It may defy logic but sometimes the bigger the lie, the more it will be believed. How else to explain why more than 10,000 people fell victim to the now-defunct scam firm Sunshine Empire, even when it used gimmicky ideas that were probably copied from movies.

One way it sought to impress potential investors was to promote the notion of the world's first undersea theme park and hotel, to be built off the coast of Sabah in East Malaysia.