A Cameroon man has been jailed eight months over a US$9 million email scam. The 26-year-old also received another month for breaching his conditions of stay, to run concurrently with the main sentence.

Eastern Magistracy heard that a victim had received several emails since October from people claiming that a US$9 million inheritance was ready to be transferred to the victim provided they pay a handling fee. The victim remitted HK$30,900 to several overseas accounts.

In February the victim received several calls from the defendant who falsely represented himself to be a diplomat from a West African country, demanding a further US$4,000.