3 Tourists From China Charged for Borrowing Money from Strangers at MRT Stations & Not Returning
Two women and one man posed as tourists to deceive the public and “borrow” money, claiming they could only use WeChat Pay and were unable to dine at nearby Chinese restaurants.The trio managed to scam over $2,600 before being caught just before their departure from the country.
The three accused (all names transliterated from Mandarin), Zhu Lianye, Zhou Jiemei, and Ding Shuai, are all from China.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the two female accused, Zhu Lianye and Zhou Jiemei, each faced five charges of dishonestly making a false representation.
On Wednesday (2 October), they pleaded guilty to three charges each, with the remaining charges taken into consideration for sentencing. They were sentenced to six months in prison.
The two women were childhood friends, and Zhu Lianye later introduced Zhou Jiemei to male accused Ding Shuai, whom she met through her husband.
Ding Shuai, alleged to be the mastermind behind the scam, devised the plan, and the two women agreed to join.
The women were responsible for approaching victims and carrying out the scam, while Ding Shuai collected the money. The three agreed to split the proceeds after returning to China, with Ding Shuai taking 60% and the other two sharing the remaining 40%.
How The MO Works
The trio arrived in Singapore from Hong Kong on 3 August and booked return tickets for 16 August. During their stay, they resided in the same hotel.As part of the plan, the two women approached strangers at various locations in Singapore, borrowing money without any intention of repaying it.
On 8 August, at around 6:30 pm, the two women approached a victim near Yishun MRT station, inquiring about nearby Chinese restaurants. They claimed they could only pay via WeChat Pay and that no nearby merchants accepted it, thus needing to borrow money for a meal.
After the victim withdrew $60 for them, they further borrowed $950, claiming it was for hotel fees and expenses in Singapore, and promised to return the money the next day.
To convince the victim, the accused even provided their WeChat account details, allowing the victim to contact them later via the app.
The two women used this method to scam around five people out of over $2,600 in various locations, including Kampung Admiralty, Sun Plaza, Marsiling MRT station, and Kranji MRT station.
The trio was eventually arrested on 15 August, a day before their planned departure from Singapore.
Charged for the Scam
During sentencing, the judge noted that the accused entered Singapore as tourists but took advantage of the victims’ kindness and trust to deceive them.The prosecution pointed out that the scam was premeditated, carried out as a group, and involved cross-border elements, which would increase the difficulty of law enforcement. Additionally, the accused had planned a short stay but were ultimately arrested the day before their departure.
Zhou Jiemei’s defense lawyer pleaded for leniency, stating that the accused was remorseful and wished to serve her sentence quickly and return to her young daughter and elderly parents, as she was the sole breadwinner of the family.
The lawyer also noted that this was the accused’s first offense and sought a lighter sentence.
However, the prosecution emphasized that the accused were tourists who had scammed on multiple occasions and could not be considered first-time offenders.
Zhu Lianye, who did not have a defense lawyer, stated during her plea that she had been reflecting while in remand. She has a young child, and her parents are farmers
She is in the process of divorcing her husband and wishes to return to China as soon as possible to care for her daughter.
The prosecution sought an eight-month sentence for the male accused, Ding Shuai, who disputed the division of the spoils.
Ding Shuai, who faces ten charges of dishonestly making a false representation and one charge of illegally possessing stolen property, raised objections to the case facts regarding the collection and division of money after the offense.
The judge reminded the accused that he was being charged as the mastermind, and the prosecution was seeking an eight-month sentence. If the accused admitted to the offense, the court would consider his role as the mastermind when determining the sentence.
Ding Shuai’s case was adjourned to 11 October for a pre-trial conference.
