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Elderly Singapore woman ‘distraught’ after losing life savings to 'DHL' scam

A 67-year-old retiree’s son tells Channel NewsAsia how his mother was cheated of a hard-earned S$25,000 in one of a series of scams which have seen victims robbed of a total of S$4 million.

SINGAPORE: It started with the caller having information about her - full name, birthdate, passport number, whereabouts and even the exact amount of money in her bank accounts. That was how Mdm Tan ended up losing S$25,000 of her life savings to a phone scammer, as her son Mr Tan (not their real names, which have been withheld for privacy) explained to Channel NewsAsia on Thursday (Jun 9).

On Wednesday, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that in the last three months, it has received over 50 reports of scammers impersonating officials or courier companies and cheating victims of S$4 million in total. One such company, DHL, warned the public back in April that scammers were masquerading as their staff to phish for information, typically by informing victims that parcels had been shipped in their names.

This was exactly what happened to retiree Mdm Tan, who was contacted on May 29 by a Chinese-speaking male claiming to work for DHL. He told the 67-year-old woman that a parcel she sent on May 18 from Changi Airport to Shanghai contained more than 20 illegal credit cards and had been confiscated by Chinese customs.

“My mother was shocked ... as she was indeed at Changi Airport on or about that date to send me off to Shanghai,” said Mr Tan, a 40-year-old Singaporean working in China who is also the writer behind Facebook page Respect Singapore.

The caller then continued his elaborate tale by alleging that Mdm Tan was involved in money laundering with a certain Wang Chen Ming, detained in China for having over 30 illegal credit cards, with one such card linked to a bank account under her name. Mdm Tan then received images on her phone of a Chinese “arrest warrant” containing her personal details. Again, she was “stunned” by such knowledge “and the apparent authenticity” of the warrant, said her son.

The caller then told Mdm Tan she would be brought to China and detained unless she contacted him once every four hours “for reporting purposes” and kept the entire affair secret, “failing which her family and her would be arrested”, said Mr Tan.

A day later the caller instructed Mdm Tan to withdraw S$20,000 from one of her bank accounts to transfer to a “so-called company account”. The following day, on May 31, she was asked to withdraw S$7,000 from another of her accounts and transfer S$5,000 to the same company, this time via the opening of a Bank of China account in Singapore. Mr Tan said this knowledge of the precise sums in her accounts “startled” his mother, who was informed “that this was needed to check if her funds were being laundered and if all goes well, the $25,000 would be returned to the Bank of China account she opened”.

The scammer then stopped responding to Mdm Tan after they last corresponded in the evening of Jun 1. And that, said Mr Tan, was how his mother’s life savings were “almost entirely wiped out”.

PIONEER GENERATION AT RISK?

According to Mr Tan, his mother was scammed due to her age, lack of higher education, Chinese-speaking background and lack of knowledge on matters such as money laundering.

“She is not alone,” he said. “She is one of many of her kind in Singapore; poorly-educated, Chinese-speaking, elderly retirees from our Pioneer Generation.”

“I had warned her several times about phone scams in the past. However, it doesn’t register as well with her due to her age, and she was also unprepared for the myriad forms that such scams can take,” Mr Tan added.

Yet the nightmare is not over for his mother, as he explained: “She is distraught. She berates herself for her own foolishness. She is distressed at the loss of her life savings, which were painstakingly accumulated from a lifetime of work as a night-shift operator and a convenience store cashier to support our family.”

NO LUCK WITH INVESTIGATION

Mr Tan also said his attempts to work with the authorities involved in his mother’s situation appear to have made limited progress.

“I approached the police here in China, but they said they would not allow me to lodge a police report as they claimed the crime occurred overseas - even though I argued the fraudster and his bank account are in Beijing,” he said. “They said they would only act on a request by the Singapore police made through Interpol to them, which would take about two weeks to process.”

Mr Tan also went to the Bank of China, who helped confirmed the money was received in the account but almost immediately transferred out thereafter.

“They have since flagged the account as “high-risk” but are unable to freeze the account unless there is a police or court order. They also said it is pointless to freeze the account as there is only a small amount of money in it now,” he explained. “They further said they have detailed information - such as the account holder’s personal details, remittance and transfer records, CCTV records of transfers and ATM activity et cetera - that could help in the investigation, but could not release the same without a police or court order.”

Mr Tan remains determined to seek redress for his mother, stating that he “will not leave out any options”. But his family is also focused on getting their mother past her ordeal. “We are helping her to forget and recover, and are regularly monitoring her condition,” he said.
 

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Sinkie family drink Indon Maid's urine, shiok or not?

SINGAPORE: A 27-year-old Indonesian domestic helper, upset that she had been scolded, mixed her urine into a bottle of milk and fed it to her employer’s four-year-old child.

Ela, who goes by one name, pleaded guilty to one count of mischief on Monday (Jun 6), for mixing her urine into the boy’s milk. She was sentenced to six weeks’ jail.

A second charge, for mixing her urine into a flask containing the family’s drinking water, was taken into consideration during sentencing.

She had worked for the family for just five weeks before she decided to trick them into consuming her urine – because she wanted to make the family “listen and be obedient to her”, the prosecutor told the court. Ela was also upset that her employer’s mother-in-law had scolded her.

The court heard that on Oct 16 2015, the child’s mother drank some water from the flask and noticed the water appeared to be yellowish in colour and that it tasted odd. She offered the water to her husband and mother-in-law, both of whom took a sip and agreed that it tasted odd.

The husband kept the flask in his bedroom overnight, and realised the next morning that it smelt pungent, the court heard. The couple asked Ela whether anything had happened to the water, but the maid told them nothing was wrong.

On Oct 18, he found Ela washing the flask after pouring its contents into the sink. He took her back to the maid agency, where she admitted that she had mixed the family’s drinking water as well as the toddler’s milk with her urine.

For committing mischief, Ela could have been jailed up to one year and/or fined.
 

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Man jailed for 2 weeks for forcing open toilet door and using criminal force on woman


Liu Jian was jailed for two weeks on after he admitted to criminal trespass and using criminal force on a woman.

Published 10 hours ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

SINGAPORE - A Chinese national broke the door to get into the toilet to confront a woman who had caught him taking a video of her in the shower.

A court heard that the 36-year-old woman, also from China, was taking a shower in the flat in Bedok - where they were both tenants - at about 12.20am on April 21 this year when she saw a white mobile phone at a gap above the toilet door . It was on a recording mode.

She immediately banged the toilet door and opened it slightly to see who the person was. She saw Liu Jian trying to run away, quickly closed the door and locked it again.

Shortly afterwards, realising that he had been spotted, Liu, 32, returned to the toilet and broke open the door to get in to confront the woman.

He grabbed her by the forearms, and pushed her against the wall, telling her not to report the matter to anyone. He released his grip only after she promised not to tell anyone.

As soon as he walked out she put on her clothes and sought the landlord's help. She called the police.

Liu was jailed for two weeks on Thursday (June 9) after he admitted to criminal trespass and using criminal force on the woman.

Two other charges of insulting a woman's modesty were taken into consideration in sentencing.

He could have been jailed for up to three months and fined up to $1,500 on each of the two proceeded charges.


 

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Indonesian maid jailed 6 weeks for feeding employer's child milk mixed with her urine


An Indonesian maid has been jailed for six weeks for mixing her urine with milk meant for her employer's four-year-old son, and giving it to him to drink.

Published Jun 9, 2016, 11:42 am SGT
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

SINGAPORE - An Indonesian maid has been jailed for six weeks for mixing her urine with milk meant for her employer's four-year-old son, and giving it to him to drink.

Ela, 27, who goes by one name, pleaded guilty on Monday (June 6) to one of two charges of mischief, committed at a flat in Pine Close on Oct 16 last year.

She had been employed for barely a month by the boy's 39-year-old father at the time of the offence.

The court heard that on Oct 16, the man's wife returned home and poured out some water from a flask to drink. She took a sip of the water, which appeared to be slightly yellowish. She showed it to her mother-in-law and her husband, who both took a sip. They found that it tasted odd.

The employer then decided to keep the flask in his bedroom to observe the water the next day. The next day, he found that the content in the flask smelt pungent.

When asked if anything had happened to the water, Ela said no.

On Oct 18, the employer found her washing the flask which she had taken from his bedroom. She was taken to the maid agency. She admitted that on Oct 16, she had collected some of her urine and poured some of it into a bottle containing milk for the boy. She had then given the tainted milk to the child to drink.

She could have been jailed for up to one year and fined for mischief.




 

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Nine weeks’ jail for man who molested woman on MRT train by rubbing against her

SINGAPORE – An unemployed man was jailed for nine weeks on Friday (June 10) for molesting a woman on board an MRT train.Indian national Godiyal Pramod, 37, who is a Singapore permanent resident, pleaded guilty to standing behind and rubbing himself repeatedly against a 21-year-old woman on the train travelling from City Hall to Bugis MRT station on May 4 last year.A court heard that the woman boarded the train at City Hall at about 6 pm that day and was going to meet her boyfriend at Bugis.As the train was crowded, she stood close to the middle of the cabin. Pramod positioned himself behind her.Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Soo Tet said that initially, the woman did not realise that the contact between Pramod and her was deliberate.She moved towards the train doors to distance herself but Pramod followed and kept rubbing himself against her buttocks.She could see that it was Pramod through the reflection in the glass panels of the train doors.When the train arrived at the Bugis MRT station, she alighted, followed by Pramod. She later told her boyfriend about the incident and they reported it to the SMRT staff.Pramod’s lawyer Amarjit Singh Sidhu said in mitigation that his client’s wife and his young daughter have been receiving financial help from the Ministry of Social and Family Development since May this year.He said Pramod is deeply remorseful and felt that he has let his family, friends and most importantly, himself, down.A second similar charge was taken into consideration in sentencing.Pramod could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or received any combined punishment.
 

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9 weeks' jail for man who molested woman on MRT train by rubbing against her


An unemployed man was jailed for nine weeks for molesting a woman on board an MRT train.

Published Jun 10, 2016, 12:08 pm SGT
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

SINGAPORE - An unemployed man was jailed for nine weeks on Friday (June 10) for molesting a woman on board an MRT train.

Indian national Godiyal Pramod, 37, who is a Singapore permanent resident, pleaded guilty to standing behind and rubbing himself repeatedly against a 21-year-old woman on the train travelling from City Hall to Bugis MRT station on May 4 last year.

A court heard that the woman boarded the train at City Hall at about 6pm that day and was going to meet her boyfriend at Bugis.

As the train was crowded, she stood close to the middle of the cabin. Pramod positioned himself behind her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Soo Tet said that initially, the woman did not realise that the contact between Pramod and her was deliberate.

She moved towards the train doors to distance herself but Pramod followed and kept rubbing himself against her buttocks.

She could see that it was Pramod through the reflection in the glass panels of the train doors.

When the train arrived at the Bugis MRT station, she alighted, followed by Pramod. She later told her boyfriend about the incident and they reported it to the SMRT staff.

Pramod's lawyer Amarjit Singh Sidhu said in mitigation that his client's wife and his young daughter have been receiving financial help from the Ministry of Social and Family Development since May this year.

He said Pramod is deeply remorseful and felt that he has let his family, friends and most importantly, himself, down.

A second similar charge was taken into consideration in sentencing.

Pramod could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or received any combined punishment.



 

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Maid jailed 7 months for taking more than $140,000 in cash and items from employer


Published Jun 10, 2016, 5:45 pm SGT
Amir Hussain

SINGAPORE - A 32-year-old maid from India was on Friday (June 10) jailed for seven months for taking a total of $141,389.53 in cash and items from her employer.

Rani, who goes by one name, pleaded guilty to two charges: one count of theft involving $5,200 of items as a servant and another of dishonest misappropriation of $136,189.53 in cash.

A district court heard that on May 3 this year, Rani was alone at her employer's Marine Crescent home. While she was cleaning a bedroom, she found a key placed on an altar and used it to unlock a cupboard in the room.

She found an assortment of cash and jewellery inside and took items worth $5,200: two yellow coins worth $3,200, two yellow pendants worth $700, a $100 pair of pearl earrings, a $900 pair of diamond earnings and a $300 ring.

She kept the stolen items in her own cupboard.

Later, on multiple occasions, she used the key to open the cupboard and took some cash each time. She did this to avoid raising her employer's suspicion.

The total amount of cash she misappropriated amounted to $136,189.53. The cash was in Euros, Chinese Yuan, Sri Lankan Rupees and Singapore, Australian and US dollars.

At about 5pm on May 8, Rani's employer called the police. She had checked Rani's cupboard after she found her cash and jewellery missing.

All of the employer's cash and items were recovered.

In mitigation, Rani told the court via a Hindi translator that her mother suffers from cancer and is looking after her son.

She said: "It is unfortunate that I came across the jewellery and money. I have never seen so much of money in one place.

"I got tempted to take the money so that I could send it back to my mother who is undergoing treatment for cancer. I am sorry for having committed this offence."

The maximum punishment for theft as a servant is seven years' jail and a fine, and for dishonest misappropriation of property, two years' jail and a fine.



 

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Company director jailed for forgery to cover up S$17m in missing funds

In 2011, MDA asked Devesh Chetty, director of RGM Entertainment, to account for the S$15 million the authority had advanced to him. He then forged two electronic bank statements by altering the dates of two e-mails from Standard Chartered Bank.

SINGAPORE: A 48-year-old director of RGM Entertainment was sentenced to 22 weeks’ jail on Friday (Jun 10) for forging bank statements to cover up missing funds amounting to S$17 million.

Devesh Chetty, an Australian citizen and Singapore permanent resident, pleaded guilty to three counts of forgery, two of which involved a S$15 million sum that was paid out to RGM Entertainment by the Media Development Authority (MDA) in 2010 and 2011.
MDA had set up an agreement with Chetty’s firm to establish a film production fund in Singapore, Deputy Public Prosecutor Leong Weng Tat said on Friday.

It was previously reported that MDA had seeded funds to two major film studios – 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures Entertainment – via two agreements with RGM Entertainment and RGM Group, a media company of which Chetty is also a director.
In November 2011, MDA asked Chetty to account for the S$15 million the authority had advanced to him. Chetty forged two electronic bank statements by altering the dates of two e-mails from Standard Chartered Bank, showing RGM Entertainment had retained the funds.

However the millions were no longer there, having been “utilised … to pay off part of RGM Entertainment’s overdue loans”, DPP Leong told the court.

Chetty pleaded guilty to a third charge for abetting the forgery of a DBS Bank statement. He had instigated an employee to forge a bank statement showing Sachmo International, another of his companies, had a bank balance in excess of S$5.5 million. In fact, the account had a “nominal balance”, DPP Leong told the court.

Chetty had the statement forged to appease an investor, Mr Lim, who had been chasing him for returns on his S$2 million investment. It was meant to be put towards Sachmo International’s purchase of shares in Dartina Development Limited, which owns and manages Golden Village Cinemas in Singapore.

When Chetty did not repay Mr Lim in 2013 as per the pair’s agreement, the latter reported the matter to the police. The money – S$15 million from MDA and S$2 million from Mr Lim – has not been recovered.

In court on Friday, DPP Leong urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on Chetty for the two charges relating to public funds disbursed by the MDA to RGM Entertainment. “The deception occurred whilst a public authority was trying to account for the usage of public funds,” the DPP said.

As for the third forgery charge involving Mr Lim, DPP Leong noted that it had been committed while Chetty was on bail, having been arrested and charged for the MDA-related offences. This clearly demonstrates Chetty’s lack of remorse, the DPP said, urging the court to impose a sentence of between 22 to 26 weeks on Chetty.

District Judge Low Wee Ping said Chetty’s actions of committing another forgery offence while on bail for forgery offences is the “height of audacity”.

Chetty’s lawyer Chenthil Kumarasingam told the court 16 weeks’ jail would be fair, pointing out that his client had not been accused of misusing any funds. Mr Kumarasingam added that Chetty had not forged the bank documents with the view to extract money from MDA or Mr Lim, and that no money had changed hands as a result of the offences.

Chetty had only been trying to keep the businesses afloat, Mr Kumarasingam said. RGM Entertainment is in liquidation. The lawyer also noted that though Chetty was investigated for allegedly misusing the funds, no charges were brought against him in this respect.
A fourth charge, also for forgery, was taken into consideration in sentencing Chetty. For forgery, Chetty could have faced up to four years’ jail and/or a fine, per charge.
 

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Jailed for molesting girls aged 7 and 14

He was arrested last October for molesting a then-seven-year-old girl at Boon Lay Shopping Centre. But just four months later, while he was out on bail, Malaysian storekeeper Lim Kok Leong, 29, molested a second girl - aged 14. The charge for the second incident was taken into consideration when Lim was sentenced yesterday to six months' jail.

The court heard that on Sept 21, Lim spotted the seven-year-old when she was at the mall with her parents that evening. While she was looking at some lanterns hanging outside a shop on the ground floor, he walked past her and touched her buttocks with his left hand. Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lai said the girl did not say anything at first as she thought Lim had touched her by accident. Lim walked away and watched her from a distance - to check if she had reacted. When he noticed that she did not make a fuss, he went towards her again and touched her buttocks for the second time. This time, the girl told her mother who shouted at Lim to stop. Lim did not look back and ran away. The girl's parents chased him but he managed to get away. The mother made a police report around 9.30pm that day.

Officers arrested Lim a month later, in October, after they conducted an extensive investigation.

NEXT VICTIM Then, instead of lying low, Lim met his next victim at an HDB block in Boon Lay Avenue. According to court documents, they were in a lift at Block 185, Boon Lay Avenue, when Lim touched the 14-year-old's back and buttocks. DPP Lai urged District Judge Lim Tse Haw to jail Lim for at least four months. He stressed that Lim molested his first victim in public, in full view of others.

Lim, who was not represented by a lawyer, admitted in his mitigation plea that he had made a mistake. Pleading for a lighter sentence, he told the court he wanted to return home earlier as his father was in hospital. Before handing out the sentence, Judge Lim said that he agreed with the prosecution. He also noted that Lim's first victim was young and that he had offended again while he was out on bail. For outraging the girl's modesty, he could have been jailed up to five years and fined or caned.
 

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Electrician who stole $6k from lover and threatened to show sex videos jailed 10 weeks


An electrician was jailed for 10 weeks for threatening to distribute videos of his lover having sex with him and stealing $6,000 from her bank account.

Published 4 hours ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

SINGAPORE - An electrician was jailed for 10 weeks on Tuesday (June 14) for threatening to distribute videos of his lover having sex with him and stealing $6,000 from her bank account.

Tong Seng Chai, 31, a Malaysian, admitted two charges each of criminal intimidation and theft and had four other theft charges taken into consideration.

A district court heard that Tong and the woman, a 25-year-old manicurist, were in a relationship until it hit a rough patch in August last year.

They went to a hotel at Changi Road on Aug 24 to discuss what they could do when they ended up having sex and he recorded a video of them on his mobile.

Later that day, a dispute arose and he asked her to hand over her mobile phones which she did. He then threatened to show the sex videos he had recorded to others if she did not listen to him. Before they left the hotel, he asked her to hand over her OCBC and POSB ATM cards.

The next day, he went to her place at Opera Estate on the pretext of returning her bank cards and another dispute followed with Tong again threatening to show videos and photos of them having sex to other people.

That evening, Tong used her POSB card to make three withdrawals of $1,000 each.

He withdrew another $3,000 the next day.

Tong's lawyer said the victim had allowed his client to use her ATM card when they were in a relationship.

District Judge Low Wee Ping told Tong that he could have been charged with extortion which carries a minimum of two years and 12 strokes of the cane, and he should be thankful that he was charged with only criminal intimidation.

Tong could have been jailed for up to two years and fined for criminal intimidation. For theft, the maximum is three years' jail and a fine.



 

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Employer sentenced to 6 weeks' jail for filming his maid in the shower


A software engineer, who used a spy camera to take a video of his domestic worker in the shower, was sentenced to six weeks' jail on June 14, 2016.

Published 4 hours ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

SINGAPORE - A software engineer, who used a spy camera to take a video of his domestic worker in the shower, was sentenced to six weeks' jail on Tuesday (June 14).

Jahja Salam, 50, a Singapore permanent resident, had pleaded guilty to intruding into the privacy of the 35-year-old Indonesian helper in his flat in Sengkang on Nov 15, 2014.

He had earlier bought a "spy camera'', housed inside a pen, with the intention to take a video of the maid showering. Some time before 8.45pm on Nov 15, he placed it inside the toilet and left for dinner.

The maid took a shower in the toilet, not realising that the camera was recording. She had noticed a "pen'' on top of the mirror cabinet, but did not suspect anything amiss.

After the shower, she noticed a yellow light coming from the "pen''. She inspected it and realised what it was and kept the recording device.

Later, when Jahja Salam returned home and found the pen missing, he demanded that the maid return it to him. But she refused, claiming that she did not know what he was talking about. She lodged a police report the next day.

Lawyer Paul Yong said his client was diagnosed with voyeurism and did not have a chance to watch the video.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Amanda Chong said voyeurism is a clinical description of what is essentially a perverse behaviour and option, and did not deprive the accused of his self-control.

The accused, she said, had every intention to capture the victim's private moments, and it was fortuitous that he was discovered.

She said it was important for a deterrent sentence to be meted out because these offences were notoriously difficult to detect.

Jahja Salam, who is married with children, was allowed to defer sentence until Aug 15.

He could have been jailed for up to 1½ years andfined for insulting the modesty of a woman.



 

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Man gets 6 months' jail for molesting 7-year-old girl twice


Elena Chong
Tuesday, Jun 14, 2016

A storekeeper molested a seven-year-old girl twice - the second time after noticing that she did not react when he first touched her buttocks.

Yesterday, Lim Kok Leong, 29, a Malaysian, was sentenced to six months in jail after he admitted to outraging the modesty of the girl twice at Boon Lay Shopping Centre last September.

The court heard that the girl was looking at some lanterns hung outside a shop at Block 21, Boon Lay Place on the evening of Sept 21 when Lim touched her buttocks as he walked past.

Thinking that the touch was accidental, she did not say anything.

Lim observed her from a distance.

When he saw that she did not tell her parents, who were with her, he decided to do it again.

After molesting her again, he walked away, but this time, the girl told her mother what Lim had done.

The mother shouted at Lim to stop, but he ran off pursued by the girl's parents.

He managed to get away.

Following an extensive police operation, Lim was arrested a month later and released on police bail.

While out on bail, he molested a 14-year-old girl in a lift in Boon Lay Avenue on Feb 11 this year.

This charge was taken into consideration in sentencing.

District Judge Lim Tse Haw agreed with the prosecution that there were many aggravating factors in Lim's case, in particular the girl's very young age.

"After having touched her the first time, and seeing that she did not react, you had the audacity to touch her a second time," he said.

Lim, whose sentence was backdated to Feb 13, could have been jailed for up to five years, fined, caned or received any combined punishment for molesting a girl under 14 years old.



 

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Sales exec jailed 3 years for using fake $100 notes she printed at home

SINGAPORE - Unable to cope with her mounting debts, a sales executive printed counterfeit $100 notes at home and then used them to pay for low value items at several shops so that she could get real change, a court heard.
On Tuesday (June 21), Rajeshwari Rajabose, 36, a Malaysian, was jailed for three years after she pleaded guilty to two out of 11 charges of using counterfeit money. The remaining counts were considered in sentencing.
A district court heard that Rajeshwari faced financial woes supporting her family in Johor Baru and started taking loans from licensed moneylenders in Singapore in August last year.


As her debt mounted, she decided to print counterfeit $100 notes and spend them on cheap items to get real cash in return.
She downloaded an image of a $100 note from the Internet in November last year and printed several copies of the note using a colour printer at her Johor Baru home.




Over a four day period, between Nov 4 and 7, she used 11 of the notes at fast food outlets and convenience stores here.
Rajeshwari targeted stores which were crowded, so it would be less likely for staff to notice the fakes or remember her, the court heard. She used the change to repay her debts.
But the shops called the cops when they realised they had been tricked.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Haniza Abnass and Lynn Tan asked for four to five years' jail for each of the two charges, while defence lawyer Sadhana Rai asked for two years' jail.
District Judge Crystal Ong noted, among other things, that Rajeshwari's scam was not fully sophisticated and that she had made full restitution.
The judge sentenced her to three years' jail for each of the two charges, to run concurrently. The sentence was backdated to her date of remand on Nov 26.
The maximum punishment for selling, buying, trafficking or using a forged or counterfeit currency or bank note is 20 years' jail and a fine.
Separately, in a media release relating to the arrest of a 52-year-old for printing $50 notes last month, the police urged anyone who spots a fake note to call them immediately.
Information on the security features of genuine Singapore currency is available on the Monetary Authority of Singapore's website.
 

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Student jailed for molesting woman who was asleep


Zhang Tao was sentenced to seven months' jail for molesting woman who was asleep.

Published 1 hour ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

SINGAPORE - A Chinese national, who entered his co-tenant's room while she was asleep and molested her, was sentenced to seven months' jail on Wednesday (June 22).

Zhang Tao, 27, a student, admitted to stroking the 28-year-old woman's inner thigh and private parts with his fingers in the master bedroom at an apartment block in Geylang at about 4.20am on April 25.

A second charge of criminal trespass was taken into consideration.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Amanda Chong Wei-Zhen told the court that at about 3.20am that day, the woman and her husband, both from China, returned to their rented bedroom after supper.

As the woman's husband, aged 27, was unable to sleep, he decided to go out for a drink nearby. The woman, who was clad in a T-shirt and panties, went to sleep. Her bedroom door was closed but not locked.

At about 4.20am, she woke up when she felt someone stroking her. She opened her eyes and saw Zhang squatting at the edge of her bed. She recognised him as a tenant in the same unit.

She asked what he was doing in her room but he kept quiet. She then told him to leave and called her husband.

Her husband returned and confronted Zhang and called the police.

DPP Chong said Zhang revealed that he had become aroused when he heard another tenant having sex. He thus developed the urge to touch the victim as he knew that she was asleep alone.

Zhang's lawyer Teo Choo Kee said in mitigation that his client had been studying here for the past four years. He said Zhang was feeling lonely and not in full control of his senses or impulses, and succumbed to a moment of weakness .

He said the offence was out of character and that Zhang was genuinely remorseful.

He said his client did not resist when he took a few blows from the complainant as he knew that he was wrong and deserved a beating.

Zhang, whose sentence was backdated to April 26, could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or received a combined punishment.




 

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Man who raped 12-year-old girl in 2002 sentenced to 16½ years' jail, 18 strokes

SINGAPORE - A man who raped a 12-year old schoolgirl in 2002 was caught by chance when he was arrested and investigated for theft in 2014.
On Wednesday (June 22), he pleaded guilty to the offence and was sent to jail to serve a 16½-year term and receive 18 strokes of the cane.
The High Court heard that Malaysian carpenter Lee Ah Choy, now 37, has a wife and a 10-year-old son living in Johor Baru and that they did not know about the offence, committed when he was 23 years old.


Lee was working in Singapore in 2002 and had seen the schoolgirl while he was on his morning jogs a few times. He took an instant liking to her. He would smile and greet her but she would ignore him.
However, on Oct 18 that year, at about 6.40am when she was on her way to school, he blocked her path. When she tried to leave, pulled her to a nearby block of flats. He took her to a fourth-floor corridor and made her sit on a flight of stairs between the fourth and fifth floors.




When she started crying, he threatened to cut her with a paper cutter. He then made her sit on a piece of cardboard at the end of the fourth floor corridor and sat between her legs.
He reached under her skirt and penetrated her with his finger. He also kissed her and unbuttoned her school blouse despite her struggles. A little later, he raped her.
After they dressed, they went separate ways. She made a police report and medical tests were done, but Lee's identity was not established.
However he was arrested and investigated for theft in 2014 and his DNA profile matched that of the rapist.
Besides rape, Lee also pleaded guilty to aggravated outrage of modesty and criminal intimidation. A fourth charge of abduction was taken into consideration in sentencing.
His lawyer Richard Siaw Kin Yeow said in mitigation: "His actions then were nothing more than a senseless and rash act, brought about by an ill-fated attraction to the victim and his immaturity."
Deputy Public Prosecutor Shahla Iqbal, who asked for a severe deterrent sentence, said: "The rape of a child is a heinous crime." She added that the victim said in a statement that she felt humiliated, and was "shocked and disgusted at (Lee's) behaviour".
She started going out with friends only after she began working, and started taking lifts alone in the daytime only a year after the incident.
Lee's jail term was backdated to Jan 23, 2015, when he was remanded. For raping a minor under 14 years of age, he could have been jailed up to 20 years, and punished with at least 12 strokes of the cane.
 

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Maid jailed 6 months for physically abusing 2-year-old boy


Fajardo Elizabeth Esquiral pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treating a two-year-old boy.

Published 6 hours ago
Amir Hussain

SINGAPORE - A Filipino maid who pinched a two-year-old boy on various parts of his body for nearly a year was on Thursday (June 23) jailed for six months.

Fajardo Elizabeth Esquiral, 26, pleaded guilty to one charge of ill-treating the child by physically abusing him and causing him unnecessary pain.

A district court heard that Fajardo was hired in July 2013 by a woman who was a single, working mother.

The maid's primary task was to look after the woman's two sons, now aged three and nine. They cannot be named to protect the children's identities.

Fajardo slept in the same bedroom as the younger child. The older son, the court heard, was mischievous but whenever Fajardo got upset, she would pinch the younger boy as he was unlikely to report her actions.

In January (2016), when the mother found multiple scars and wounds all over her son's body and limbs, she took him to hospital. Later at home, Fajardo admitted that she was responsible for them.

Fajardo admitted to pinching the boy for about 10 months, between March last year and January this year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Claire Poh asked for six months' jail, noting the long period of abuse and extent of ill-treatment. She submitted photos of the boy's injuries to the court.

In mitigation, Fajardo told the court through a Tagalog interpreter, in between sobs, that she was the sole breadwinner of her family and had elderly parents and younger siblings back home to support.

Principal District Judge Bala Reddy said: "The victim was defenceless and could not complain and had to endure all the pain that (Fajardo) had caused." He agreed with the jail term that the prosecution had asked for.

Fajardo could have been fined $4,000 and jailed for four years.



 

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Re: Man who raped 12-year-old girl in 2002 sentenced to 16½ years' jail, 18 strokes

SINGAPORE - A man who raped a 12-year old schoolgirl in 2002 was caught by chance when he was arrested and investigated for theft in 2014.
On Wednesday (June 22), he pleaded guilty to the offence and was sent to jail to serve a 16½-year term and receive 18 strokes of the cane.
The High Court heard that Malaysian carpenter Lee Ah Choy, now 37, has a wife and a 10-year-old son living in Johor Baru and that they did not know about the offence, committed when he was 23 years old.

ST_20160623_BYLEE23_2388354.jpg
 

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Bangladeshi man arrested after swimming to Singapore from Johor


Published Jul 5, 2016, 3:57 pm SGT

SINGAPORE - A 36-year-old Bangladeshi man has been arrested for attempting to enter Singapore illegally by swimming from Johor.

On Sunday (July 3) at about 3am, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint were informed by the Police Coast Guard that a person had been sighted walking along the shoreline towards Singapore.

Officers from the Land Domain were immediately deployed to search for the suspect, ICA said in a statement on Tuesday.

At about 3.35am, the man was located and immediately placed under arrest.

Preliminary investigations showed that he had attempted to swim to Singapore from Johor and landed at the shoreline, where he was apprehended.

Investigations are ongoing, ICA said.

Those caught overstaying or attempting illegal entry to Singapore could face up to six months' jail and a minimum of three strokes of the cane, while the penalties for illegal departure is a fine of up to $2,000, up to six months imprisonment, or both.



 

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Singapore police hunt bank 'note' robber

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AFP/Singapore​

Singapore police said on Friday they are hunting a man who managed to steal more than $22,000 from a bank using nothing but a piece of paper.
The suspect, described as caucasian, strolled into a Standard Chartered branch in an expatriate enclave of the city around lunchtime on Thursday and handed staff a note with his demands.
Minutes later, he walked out of the branch with Sg$30,000 ($22,200) in cash, said a source close to the investigation, who asked not to be named.
A police spokesman confirmed the robbery and said no weapon was used, but gave no details of the note's contents.
The local Straits Times newspaper said police were searching for an Australian man.
Bank robberies are rare in Singapore, whose tough stance against crime and strict ban on private gun ownership have made it one of Asia's safest cities.
The last attempt was in November 2008 when a man disguised himself as a woman threatened tellers with what he called a "bomb" in a paper bag. He was restrained by bank staff and arrested.
 

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Indonesian jailed 2 years for arranging to smuggle overstayer out of Singapore

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Sofyan Soeb (pictured) was found hiding in the boot of a car on May 21. Photo: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority

Friday, Jul 8, 2016

A 54-year-old Indonesian man was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday (July 8) for arranging to take an overstayer out of Singapore via the Woodlands Checkpoint.

Sabaruddin Bin Sutarmin was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. He was spared from caning due to his age.

In May 2015, Sabaruddin had arranged for the illegal departure of Sofyan Soeb, an Indonesian who had overstayed in Singapore, in a Malaysia-registered saloon car at the Woodlands Checkpoint.

The car was driven by Hasan Bin Maksum, a fellow Indonesian.

Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers who opened the boot found Sofyan crouching inside.

Both the Indonesians were convicted on June, 4, 2015.

Sofyan was sentenced to three months' imprisonment and three strokes of the cane for his overstaying offence while Hasan was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and three strokes of the cane.

Following their convictions, officers found through investigations that Sabaruddin, who was living in Johor Bahru, was involved in the arrangements relating to the illegal departure. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

Through close collaboration with the Malaysian Royal Police, ICA officers successfully escorted Sabaruddin, a Malaysia Permanent Resident, back to Singapore for investigation.

According to a statement from the ICA, it takes a serious view of attempts to overstay, enter or depart Singapore illegally.

The penalties for overstaying or illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months plus a minimum of three strokes of the cane, while the penalties for engaging in the business of conveying a prohibited immigrant into and out of Singapore is a jail term of not less than 2 years and not more than 5 years and caning of not less than 3 strokes.

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