Foreign talent's contributions to Singapore

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Ex-company director jailed for engaging sexual services of underage girl​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Sep 26, 2022

SINGAPORE - An American man engaged the sexual services of a teenage girl here despite knowing she was below 18 years old.
On April 5, 2021, John Tae-Hyun Kaaiohelo and the 17-year-old girl, who was then staying in a shelter, went to a handicapped toilet at his office building, Duo Tower in Fraser Street near North Bridge Road, where she performed oral sex on him.
Court documents did not state why she was staying in a shelter at the time .
Kaaiohelo, 42, was on Monday jailed for 10 weeks after he pleaded guilty to engaging the sexual services of the minor.
A search with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority shows he used to be a director and shareholder of a firm that invests in early-stage companies.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tin Shu Min said Kaaiohelo was looking through online classifieds website Locanto in early 2021 to buy used female undergarments when he came across the girl's advertisement that she was selling them.
After contacting her, he propositioned her for sexual services during their conversation. He agreed to pay her $150 for oral sex and a pair of her used underwear.

The court heard that the girl told him she was below 18 years old at the time.
Despite this, Kaaiohelo booked a private-hire car on April 5, 2021, to bring the teenager to Duo Tower, where he met her at a drop-off point.
They went to the eighth storey of the building and she performed oral sex on him in a handicapped toilet. After paying her $150 in cash, Kaaiohelo left the premises at around 1.40pm.
The head of casework and counselling at the shelter later found out about the girl's activities and alerted the police on May 5, 2021.
Calling for the court to sentence Kaaiohelo to between 14 and 16 weeks' jail, DPP Tin said on Monday: "The transaction between the victim and the accused was one-off and there is no evidence of further contact between them.
"While this was not a case in which the accused deliberately sought out a minor to begin with, he proceeded despite finding out that she was a minor."
For engaging the sexual services of a minor, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.

 

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Ex-CEO of Prive Group gets jail, fine for assault on teen after appeal by prosecution​

Vu Han Jean-Luc Kha must serve two weeks' jail and pay a $3,500 fine. PHOTO: ST FILE

Selina Lum
Senior Law Correspondent

Oct 5, 2022

SINGAPORE - The former chief executive of food and beverage firm The Prive Group must serve two weeks' jail and pay a $3,500 fine for assaulting a 13-year-old boy in a lift, after the High Court on Wednesday allowed an appeal by the prosecution.
Justice Vincent Hoong said deterrence eclipses rehabilitation as the dominant sentencing consideration in this case, as he overturned the 12-month mandatory treatment order (MTO) that was handed down to Vu Han Jean-Luc Kha, 44, by a district judge in March.
"I consider (Kha's) voluntary intoxication and the fact that he had committed the offences against a vulnerable victim who suffered psychological scars to be aggravating," he said.
The judge noted that Kha admitted he shared two jugs of beer and half to three-quarters of a bottle of whiskey with his friends at a KTV lounge in Sophia Road and also drank three to four glasses of whiskey at a KTV lounge at Parklane Shopping Mall in Selegie before entering the elevator.
Justice Hoong said the MTO suitability report did not offer adequate insight into the extent to which Kha's offences were attributable to his bipolar disorder, as opposed to his drunken state.
He added: "The present case should not be misconstrued as casting doubt on the veracity or potential severity of bipolar disorder.
"Nor does it set forth a general principle that the court will invariably view claims by offenders that they committed offences while labouring under mental disorders with circumspection. Each case turns on its own facts."

On Nov 22, 2019, the victim, who was 13 years old then, and his brother, who was 12, were in a lift in Parklane Shopping Mall at around 8.15pm when an intoxicated Kha and another man entered the lift.
Kha directed lewd comments at the victim, and, for no apparent reason, punched the victim on his left temple, causing the boy to fall backwards against the lift's handrail.
He then hurled vulgarities at the boy, who grabbed Kha's hands to stop his attacker from hitting him again.
Kha then exclaimed: "You want to challenge me? Why do you want to challenge me?"
The other man held Kha back and pushed him out of the lift on the first storey. But Kha refused to leave and slapped the victim.
As a result of the incident, the boy had difficulties sleeping and was fearful of being in lifts with men.
In seeking an MTO, the defence tendered four psychiatric reports which stated that Kha had bipolar disorder and was likely having a manic episode at the time.
In August, Deputy Attorney-General Tai Wei Shyong appealed for at least eight weeks' jail for a charge of causing hurt to the victim and a fine for the verbal assault.

 

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Man gets jail for having paid sex with minor he met on Sugarbook website​

Aloi Gregory Marshall, 47, was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail for having paid sex with an underage girl. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Nadine Chua

Oct 19, 2022

SINGAPORE - Despite being told she had yet to turn 18, a man had sex with a girl he met on Sugarbook and paid her $1,000 for her services.
Aloi Gregory Marshall, 47, was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail on Wednesday after pleading guilty to obtaining the sexual services of an individual under 18 years of age.
The victim cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity.
The court heard that Marshall browsed the Sugarbook website to look for companionship sometime in early 2021.
Sugarbook is a matchmaking website that pairs women with men willing to pay for their time.
Marshall saw the victim’s profile on the website where she represented that she was 18 years old. They communicated on Sugarbook and subsequently continued chatting on messaging app Telegram.
On Telegram, Marshall asked the girl if she was 18, to which she replied she was “turning 18 this December”.

In response, he asked the victim if she was interested to provide him with sexual services. He said he would pay her $1,000 for a two-hour session, during which they would “have sex twice”.
She agreed and they met in April 2021 at his residence, where they had sex.
Marshall subsequently left $1,000 by the victim’s bag as consideration for her sexual services, and she took it before leaving his residence.
That same month, Marshall reached out to the victim on Telegram to ask if she wanted to meet again. The pair tried to arrange a meet-up but were unable to find an available date.
In May, Marshall contacted the victim twice to ask if she was free to meet, but she did not respond.

Seeking a sentence of 12 to 14 weeks’ jail, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tin Shu Min said the degree of inquiry performed by the accused in ascertaining the victim’s age ought to be taken into consideration during sentencing.
DPP Tin also noted: “Even though the accused and the victim met only once, the accused continued to communicate with the victim thereafter in an attempt to arrange for another session of commercial sex.
“While this was not a case in which the accused deliberately sought out a minor to begin with, he proceeded despite being finding out she was a minor.”
Marshall’s request to defer his sentence to give him time to settle some matters was approved. He will begin his jail term on Nov 16.
An offender who obtains the sexual services of an individual under 18 can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.

 

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Jail, caning for man who raped woman he duped with fake profile and bogus $2,500 offer for sex​

Li Jiajie was sentenced by the High Court to 12 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane. PHOTO: ST FILE

Selina Lum
Senior Law Correspondent

Oct 21, 2022

SINGAPORE - Using a fake online profile, a hotel room attendant who had less than $23 in his bank account offered a woman $2,500 to have sex with him, and told her that she could change her mind after they meet up.
But after duping her into agreeing to meet him, Li Jiajie strangled and punched the woman, then raped her. He told her that she cannot leave his flat until he was done.
On Friday, the 32-year-old Chinese national was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty in the High Court to a charge of aggravated rape committed against the woman, then 28, on June 9, 2018.
The court heard that Li got to know the woman on a dating app in May 2018.
He identified himself with a fake name and used the picture of another man he found online as his profile picture.
Li told the woman that he worked as an engineer and repeatedly offered to give her $2,000 if she would have sex with him.
The woman initially rejected him, but continued chatting online with him.

Li told her that he liked her and would be good to her, and increased his offer to $2,500.
On the afternoon of June 8, 2018, the woman asked Li whether he would respect her decision if she changed her mind after meeting up, and he said he would.
When they met that night at Kallang MRT station, the woman told Li that he looked very different from his profile picture, but he said he looked no different.

After they went to his place, she asked if he was living alone, and he replied that he did not have financial means to rent the whole flat.
She then asked him for the money, and when he did not respond, she booked a Grab ride to go home, but he refused to let her leave.
When she said she would call the police, Li replied that he would tell the police that she was a prostitute.
He then pinned her down on the bed, strangled and punched her, and demanded that she take off her clothes.

The woman tried to push him away but was overpowered.
She tried to talk Li into letting her go, but he told her that she cannot leave until he finished.
After the rape, the woman left the flat in a daze and flagged a taxi. On her way home, she decided to make a police report. Meanwhile, Li repeatedly asked her to share her location with him.
Li was later arrested at his workplace.
On Friday, Li told the court he would like to apologise to the victim and her family for causing hurt to her, and asked for leniency so that he could return to China early to take care of his mother.
Justice Hoo Sheau Peng noted his remorse, but said personal family circumstances are generally not a mitigating factor.
In sentencing, the judge said the nature of the violence and hurt inflicted was a sentencing factor, and noted that Li had forcefully strangled and punched the victim.

 

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Man jailed 40 months for posing as female gynaecologist to get intimate photos, videos of women​

Jessie Lim

Oct 26, 2022

SINGAPORE – A man duped 38 women into sending him photos and videos of their private parts by pretending to be a female gynaecologist from a private hospital.
Ooi Chuen Wei, 37, was sentenced to 40 months’ jail on Wednesday.
The Malaysian pleaded guilty to six charges of personation. Fifteen similar charges were taken into consideration.
The court heard that in late 2016, Ooi created a Facebook profile styling himself as “Dr Janice Lee Yan Hooi” from “Gleneagles Medical Singapore”. He used a random photograph of a Malaysian woman as his profile picture.
To make his account seem more legitimate, Ooi added both male and female Facebook friends and created an Instagram and LinkedIn profile using the same name.
After identifying female victims to target, he sent them a message introducing himself as Dr Lee and offered to share a medical plan for breast and sexual health with monthly consultations. He said the medical plan was approved by “Gleneagles Medical Centre”.
He then sent them step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a massage of their breasts and genital areas and asked them to send him videos of them doing so.


Ooi claimed the videos would enable him to diagnose any health issues, so he could provide them with a treatment plan.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) R Arvindren said on Wednesday: “This was essentially a telemedicine ruse by the accused. The accused downloaded and saved the videos and pictures after he received them… the victims believed the accused’s elaborate lies.”
DPP Arvindren said that Ooi would avoid speaking to the victims in order not to blow his cover as a female gynaecologist.


Between 2018 and 2021, his 35 victims sent a total of 919 photos and videos to Ooi. The women cannot be named due to a gag order.
Ooi attempted to cheat another seven victims but was unsuccessful.
His offences came to light after one of his victims became suspicious in 2021.
She conducted her own research and realised that there was nobody by the name of Dr Janice Lee Yan Hooi working at Gleneagles.
She lodged a police report which led to Ooi’s arrest on November 11, 2021.
During investigations, Ooi admitted that he knew the victims would feel alarmed and humiliated if they found out he was not a female doctor.
In sentencing, District Judge Luke Tan noted that there was a high number of victims involved and the offences took place over a prolonged period of time.
For cheating by personation, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined or both.

 

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Chinese national who gave false info in Employment Pass application jailed 7 weeks​

Yu Huajie pleaded guilty to two charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Samuel Devaraj

Oct 27, 2022

SINGAPORE - Yu Huajie invested $1 million in a company in Singapore as he had hoped to eventually become a permanent resident (PR) so that he could set up companies and his children could live and study here.
In 2018, the Chinese national gave false information, including the company that he would be working at in Singapore, to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in his Employment Pass application.
The 37-year-old was given seven weeks’ jail on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to two charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
MOM prosecuting officer Samuel Chua said in court documents that Yu believed an Employment Pass would help him gain permanent residency here.
While in China, he made enquiries on how he could settle down and legitimise his stay in Singapore, and approached a man who told him he could get an Employment Pass by investing $1 million in a company in Singapore.
Yu transferred the money to the man and also submitted, or caused the transfer of, his biodata, including a copy of his passport, to a Ms Wang Jue, the director of Hai Sin International, which purportedly helps clients buy over, invest in or start a business in Singapore.
Hai Sin had launched advertising campaigns in China on investing in Singapore.


MOM’s Mr Chua said Yu knew that his Employment Pass would be applied under a company called Gashubin Engineering and his mllion-dollar investment would be for that company.
He also knew that he would be paid $10,000 per month as “monthly salary”, on top of any future potential investment returns and that he would not need to work for or on behalf of Gashubin.
Yu was later told that a degree certificate had to be submitted as part of his Employment Pass application. He agreed to getting a false certificate to show that he had graduated from The Chubb Institute (Westbury) in the United States with a bachelor’s degree in business management.

He paid US$10,000 (S$14,000) for the fake certificate.
Yu applied for his Employment Pass on Dec 14, 2018 saying he would be working Gashubin Engineering as a regional marketing manager, and on Feb 15, 2019, falsely declared to the controller of work passes in MOM that he would be working for the company and that he was a business management graduate of The Chubb Institute (Westbury).
Based on the declared information, MOM approved his application for an Employment Pass.

While in Singapore, Yu received between $5,000 and $10,000 per month from Gashubin as “salary” from Feb 15, 2019, to March 16, 2021, but was never employed by the company.
On March 16, 2021, an MOM employment inspector carried out investigations upon receiving information on possible contravention of laws relating to the employment of foreigners.
Investigations revealed that some time in early to mid-2018, Ms Wang told the director of Gashubin that she could secure foreign investors for the company, provided that it applied for Employment Passes for these foreign investors to validate their stay in Singapore.
Ms Wang and the director agreed that these foreigners would only invest financially in Gashubin and would not need to work for or on its behalf.
Dr David Leong, managing director of human resource company PeopleWorldwide Consulting, told The Straits Times on Thursday that some PR applicants may exaggerate or present fake documents to improve their chances of approval and that maintaining rigour against fraudulent applications is crucial to attracting the best talents and capital.

 

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Company CEO who assaulted policeman in Sentosa Cove gets 10 weeks’ jail​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Nov 4, 2022

SINGAPORE – The chief executive of an e-commerce services firm was at a friend’s home in Sentosa Cove when he assaulted a policeman who had turned up following complaints about noise at the gathering.
South Korean Kim Sun Ho, 40, who is also a director and shareholder at Makers Farm, was jailed for 10 weeks on Friday after he pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant.
Shortly before committing the offence in the wee hours of Feb 20, he had been consuming alcohol at the gathering in Ocean Drive.
Noise made by the guests prompted members of the public to alert a Sentosa Cove security officer, who turned up to look into the matter.
The officer noticed that Kim was intoxicated, and behaving in an uncooperative and rowdy manner.
The officer called the police, and Special Constabulary Sergeant (1) Harith Syahmi Safarudin and his colleagues arrived at the scene at around 3.15am.
Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Arvindren said: “During the check, the accused came out of a bedroom to look for one of his female companions.

“The accused stumbled into the… patio, where his female companions were, and nearly fell into (a) swimming pool in his intoxicated state. The victim pulled the accused’s arm to prevent him from falling into the swimming pool.”
Kim then turned around, told Special Constabulary Sgt (1) Harith to “shut up”, and punched the 21-year-old’s left cheek.
The DPP added that Kim tried to punch the victim’s face again but was immediately restrained by two other police officers.
He was arrested, and during investigations admitted that he drank multiple glasses of whiskey and champagne before the assault.
Special Constabulary Sgt (1) Harith, who suffered a bruise on his left cheek, went to Alexandra Hospital and was given two days of medical leave.
Kim was represented by lawyers Adrian Wee, Lynette Chang and Takehiro Miyoshi.
In his mitigation plea, Mr Wee asked for Kim to be given not more than seven weeks’ jail, stressing that the incident involved his client’s first brush with the law in Singapore.

Mr Wee, who is from Characterist law firm, added: “Shortly after the incident took place, our client made efforts to seek the victim out in an attempt to apologise to him, but could not locate the victim.
“As such, our client has personally expressed his sincere apologies in a letter which has been presented to the prosecution to be placed before the victim.”
For assaulting a public servant, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.

 

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Jail term for man who duped banks extended by 6 weeks over latest cheating conviction​

Vadim Koryagin, who was sentenced to four weeks’ jail in September 2021, will spend six more weeks in jail. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

NOV 11, 2022


SINGAPORE - A Russian man who is now behind bars after he and an accomplice colluded to cheat two banks by falsely declaring the beneficial ownership of several companies, will spend six more weeks in jail after he pleaded guilty on Friday to six more cheating charges.
Vadim Koryagin, 54, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail in September 2021, while Singaporean Andruew Tang You Liang, then 32, was given two weeks’ jail over offences which entailed circumventing the banks’ anti-money laundering procedures. The pair had committed the offences in 2014 and 2016.
They were each convicted in 2021 on three counts of cheating.
District Judge Eddy Tham, who handled these earlier proceedings, had said that Koryagin was the “principal driver” in the offences, so he was handed the stiffer sentence.
The judge had also noted that there was no evidence of illicit funds involved in the men’s cases.
The pair later appealed against their conviction and sentences.
In April 2022, the High Court dismissed their appeals and Justice Kannan Ramesh said that the false declarations hindered the checks carried out by the banks and thus jeopardised the banks’ reputation.

Two Singaporean women - Phee Sim Gek, then 43, and Seet Mei Siah, then 64 – were each sentenced to five days’ jail in 2020 over their roles in the offences.
The case involving a fourth Singaporean, Joel Sam Thomas, 38, is pending.
Recounting Koryagin’s current case, Deputy Public Prosecutor Gan Ee Kiat told District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan on Friday that in February 2014, the Russian had set up a firm called MEA Business Solutions to help foreigners incorporate companies and set up bank accounts in Singapore.

Koryagin would act as a nominee director of the companies and appoint local residents to serve as nominee directors as well
Joel, Seet and Phee were among these nominee directors, said the DPP.
The DPP told the court: “The accused explained to Joel that his role was to act as a nominee director, which encompassed the signing of forms and opening of bank accounts for companies, and did not involve running the companies.”

On Dec 15, 2014, MEA incorporated Horizon Global Overseas for one Andrey Bokser, but Joel was listed as the firm’s sole shareholder and director on Horizon Global’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority profile.
MEA was also engaged to open bank accounts for Horizon Global.
Sometime before or around Dec 23, 2014, Koryagin told Joel that Horizon Global needed a bank account and gave him the necessary information.
DPP Gan said that Joel went to an OCBC Bank branch to open a corporate bank account for Horizon Global, falsely declaring that he was its ultimate beneficial owner.
According to court documents, Koryagin also committed similar offences between 2014 and 2016. Among them were those involving Phee and Seet.
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined.

 

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S’pore branch of engineering firm linked to MRT projects claims trial to graft charges​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

NOV 14, 2022

SINGAPORE - The Singapore branch of a tunnel and underground engineering firm linked to MRT projects is claiming trial on Monday after it was accused of bribing a Land Transport Authority (LTA) deputy group director at the time to the tune of $220,000.
China Railway Tunnel Group (Singapore Branch), which faces three graft charges, allegedly gave the monies to Henry Foo Yung Thye in 2018 and 2019.
Foo, then 47, was sentenced to 5½ years’ jail in September 2021 for taking about $1.24 million in bribes in the form of loans from contractors and subcontractors.
In earlier proceedings, the court heard that he had sought loans from, among others, directors of firms such as Tiong Seng Contractors, Mept Engineering, Tritech Engineering & Testing and China Railway Tunnel’s Singapore branch.
In exchange, he promised to perform tasks such as advancing their business interests with LTA.
In their opening statement on the current trial, Deputy Public Prosecutors Grace Lim and Gan Ee Kiat said that in 2014, several LTA representatives, including Foo, met China Railway Tunnel’s Singapore branch staff in China.
They were considering using the engineering company’s rectangular tunnel boring machine (RTMB) in the construction of the Thomson-East Coast Line.

There, Foo met a man identified in court documents as A1, one of the firm’s representatives hosting the visit.
In December 2014, China Railway Tunnel’s Singapore branch subcontracted another company to carry out tunnelling works using the RTMB for Havelock MRT station.
In February 2015, the engineering company’s local branch deployed another man, identified in court documents as A2, as the commercial manager for this subcontracted work.

Details about A1 and A2 were not disclosed in court documents.
Foo and A2 became acquainted with each other soon after.
The prosecutors said: “In October 2017, the company was awarded the main contract for the construction of Prince Edward Road station and tunnels on the Circle Line, also known as the C885 project. This project was not under Foo’s purview.
“The company deployed A1 to Singapore to lead the work for the C885 project as the project director.
“A1 occupied the most senior position in the company in Singapore. A2 held the role of deputy project director for the C885 project and reported directly to A1.”
According to court documents, Foo asked A1 and A2 for a loan in 2017.

Believing that Foo would help the company’s business interests with LTA if they helped him, A1 told A2 to find a way to withdraw money from the company to bribe Foo, the prosecutors told the court.
A2 then got a man from another firm to help to issue false invoices to China Railway Tunnel’s Singapore branch, and it paid the man’s firm according to the invoices it received.
The prosecutors told the court that after each payment, the man withdrew monies in cash and passed them to some employees of China Railway Tunnel’s Singapore branch.
The prosecutors added that out of this cash, A1 and an accountant colleague delivered $100,000 to Foo on Jan 5, 2018, while A2 delivered $100,000 to him 26 days later.
Foo also received $20,000 in 2019, according to court documents.
His offences came to light in October 2018, when the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) received an anonymous complaint that he had been soliciting loans from LTA subcontractors.
He resigned from LTA in September 2019.
The prosecutors said that on Nov 21, 2019, bailors for A1 and A2 told CPIB that they had lost contact with the pair.
The trial resumes on Tuesday.

 

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31 years’ jail, caning for ‘depraved sexual predator’ who exploited 20 girls​

Selina Lum
Senior Law Correspondent

DEC 5, 2022,

SINGAPORE - A 34-year-old technician who tricked 15 girls into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves, and manipulated five of these victims into having sex with him, was sentenced to 31 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane on Monday.
Chinese national Lin Rongxin, who is married with a son, had also threatened some of his victims into secretly filming five other girls and women while they were changing clothes or showering.
In sentencing Lin on Monday, High Court judge Hoo Sheau Peng called him a depraved sexual predator who harmed and affected the lives of not just his 20 victims, but their families as well.
Justice Hoo said the case was a stark reminder of the increasing prevalence of the use of technology in crimes, and that the sentence was a signal to potential offenders that the law has no tolerance for those who abuse technology to prey on the vulnerable.
“It is my hope that the victims will find some measure of closure with the conclusion of this case,” she said.
“I also hope that the plights of the victims serve to warn young people to exercise the utmost caution in their online interactions.”
Lin’s wife, who was present in the court on Monday, was allowed to speak to him after he was sentenced. He will be in his 50s when he is released, if given the usual one-third remission for good behaviour.

He had pleaded guilty on Nov 28 to three counts of rape committed against three victims, three counts of criminal intimidation for threatening to circulate naked photos or videos of three victims, and one count of voyeurism for instigating a victim to secretly film her flatmates in the shower.
Another 57 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Using multiple false personas, Lin ran an elaborate “sextortion” scheme from 2018 until his arrest in June 2019. Posing as 19-year-old Lin Zhi Xuan, he “catfished” girls, aged 14 to 19, to trick them into sending him revealing and obscene photos and videos of themselves.


Catfishing is the practice of using a fake online profile to lure another person.
He then threatened to distribute the sexually explicit videos and photos unless his victims gave him money or performed various sexual acts for him.
At least five victims were forced into performing sexual acts on video for him, but seven others refused and eventually blocked him from contacting them.
He also demanded that the victims have sex with another man, “Huang Yi”, who was actually himself.
After having sex with the victims, he fooled them into thinking he would help them resolve the threats by their blackmailer.
Three of the unsuspecting girls ended up having a relationship with him, and had sex with him on further occasions.
In the case of one rape victim, V1, who was then 14, he told her under his guise as Huang Yi that he had spent 260,000 yuan (S$50,400) trying to purchase from her blackmailer the images that showed her naked. She felt indebted to him and developed feelings for him.
He made another rape victim, V2, then 15 to 16 years old, perform particularly degrading acts. Despite raping her twice, he continued to threaten to send explicit videos of her to her relatives, friends and parents.
As for the third rape victim, V4, then 19, he used his Lin Zhi Xuan persona to concoct a story about how he was poor and owed $8,000 to his creditor, Huang Yi. V4 took pity on him and agreed to have sex with Huang Yi to help him.
When he realised that V4 had feelings for his online persona, he told her Lin Zhi Xuan was gay, so that she would fall in love with his physical self instead.

 

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American jailed for using forged letter to avoid paying $20k hospital bill and cheating​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

DEC 7, 2022

SINGAPORE - An American, who was a former teacher, was jailed after he targeted multiple victims and in one incident submitted to Mount Alvernia Hospital a forged letter of guarantee (LOG), purportedly from an insurance company, to avoid paying a bill of $20,892.72.
Separately, Michael Gunderson Vericker also cheated two people of $900 in total by falsely claiming that he had rooms for staycation at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) integrated resort for sale.
Vericker, 43, who pleaded guilty to two counts of cheating and one count of committing forgery for the purpose of cheating, was sentenced to a year’s jail on Wednesday.
Defence lawyer John Koh said his client was a teacher for students with special needs based in Singapore, had injured his spine in an accident, and has been jobless since March 2021. He also could not return home at the time to seek medical treatment due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Dec 10, 2020, Vericker went to Mount Alvernia Hospital for day surgery and told a staff member there that he would be providing a letter from AXA Insurance. He also provided his credit card details to the hospital employee.
As a result, the hospital did not collect a deposit from him. Court documents did not disclose details about the surgery.
While waiting for the procedure to start, Vericker used his mobile phone to forge an AXA letter. First, he searched for the AXA logo online and attached it on the forged LOG.

Then he stated that the insurance company would guarantee payment for medical services rendered in the amount up to $30,000, and that he was not responsible for any payment upon discharge from the hospital.
Vericker also added the signature of someone who was purportedly an AXA representative.
He had intended to commit fraud by causing Mount Alvernia Hospital to process the surgery without taking payment from him.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Wu Yu Jie said: “After the surgery and while being discharged, the accused provided a copy of the forged AXA LOG to Mount Alvernia Hospital’s staff... As a result, (the hospital) omitted to take payment for the medical and surgical fees from the accused at the time.”
The truth emerged when the hospital later submitted Vericker’s medical bills and the forged letter to AXA. The insurance company then told the hospital that the letter was a forgery.
After that, Mount Alvernia Hospital tried debiting his credit card, but the transaction was declined. Hospital staff also e-mailed Vericker to ask for payment, but he did not respond.
A hospital manager then alerted the police on Jan 29, 2021.
In unrelated incidents in 2021 and 2022, Vericker cheated two men of $900 in total after lying to them that he had rooms for staycation at MBS for sale.
He has not made any restitution for the offences.
An offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined for each cheating charge.

 

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Jail for duo who received over $900k in crime proceeds using foreign workers’ bank accounts​

Yin Junjun (left) and Zhang Ming were each sentenced to 33 months' jail on Dec 8, 2022. ST PHOTOS: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

DEC 8, 2022

SINGAPORE - A man and his brother-in-law conspired to launder large sums of cash, receiving crime proceeds totalling more than $900,000 in bank accounts belonging to foreign workers who had left Singapore.
Their crimes came to light after police officers found over $400,000 in cash and 71 bank cards in their vehicle at a roadblock.
The money came from offences including cheating, said the prosecution, without revealing details about the scams.
Singapore permanent resident Zhang Ming and his Chinese national brother-in-law Yin Junjun were each sentenced to 33 months’ jail on Thursday.
The men, both 39, pleaded guilty to three counts each of dealing with the benefits of criminal conduct.
At the time of the offences in 2021, Zhang was a manager at an agency for foreign workers, while Yin worked in a trading firm.
Early that year, a friend introduced Zhang to a man known only as Ah Xiang, who claimed to be in the business of online gaming and soccer betting.

Ah Xiang then asked Zhang whether he was willing to use his bank account to receive cash and then transfer the money to other accounts.
Zhang did not want to use his own account, as he feared it might be frozen if there were large sums flowing in and out of it.
Ah Xiang, who knew that Zhang worked at an agency for foreign workers, suggested using bank accounts owned by such individuals.

He also told Zhang that for every $10,000 he helped receive, he would be paid $200 as commission.
Zhang told Yin about the offer and the two agreed to use the bank accounts of workers who were leaving Singapore to receive the monies.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Edwin Soh said that Zhang and Yin started collecting bank cards and Internet banking login details of such workers.
They then shared these details with Ah Xiang via messaging platform Telegram.

Ah Xiang started transferring large amounts of cash into these bank accounts soon after.
Ah Xiang would notify the pair, who had control over these bank accounts, of money transferred. He also gave instructions for them to transfer these sums to cryptocurrency wallets or bank accounts in China.
At around 3am on June 20, 2021, the pair were stopped at a police roadblock in Jalan Toa Payoh.
DPP Soh told the court that the two were arrested as they could not provide a satisfactory explanation for why they had so much cash and so many bank cards in the vehicle.
The two men were represented by lawyers Anthony Lim and Ramesh Tiwary.
Mr Tiwary told the court that their clients were unaware that the monies were proceeds of cheating and had thought that the cash came from online gaming activities.
Each offender was offered bail of $25,000 on Thursday. They were also ordered to surrender themselves at the State Courts on Jan 30, 2023 to begin serving their sentences.

 

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Couple sentenced to jail and penalties of over $1.1m each for tax-related offences​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent


DEC 12, 2022

SINGAPORE - A husband-and-wife pair were sentenced to jail and ordered to pay penalties totalling more than $1.1 million each on Monday over tax-related offences.
Malaysian Lim Meng Fatt, 53, who is a Singapore permanent resident, was sentenced to a year and 16 weeks in jail and ordered to pay $1,163,668 in penalties.
His Singaporean wife, Gan Bee Bee, also 53, was sentenced to a year, four months and 17 weeks behind bars. She was ordered to pay penalties totalling $1,175,818.
The couple used to run body massage and foot reflexology firm Wan Lin Healthcare Centre Pte Ltd at Fu Lu Shou Complex in Rochor Road.
They abetted Wan Lin to evade a total of $140,378 in income tax for Years of Assessment (YA) 2015 and 2017.
They also omitted output tax totalling $84,304 in Wan Lin’s goods and services tax (GST) returns.
In addition, the pair evaded GST totalling $163,206 by cancelling Wan Lin’s GST registration in 2016, when, in fact, the company was still liable to be GST-registered.

Gan also abetted Wan Lin to make a false claim totalling $4,050 under the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme on Aug 12, 2015.
The PIC scheme, administered by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras), was a government subsidy open to all Singapore-registered companies that had active business operations here and employed at least three local workers.
Under the initiative, which expired in 2018, companies could convert qualifying expenditure that they had incurred, such as purchases of IT and automation equipment, into cash payouts.
Tax prosecutor Vanessa Chiam said that for YA2016, Gan intentionally aided Wan Lin to obtain a PIC cash payout that the firm was not entitled to.
Gan told Lim to falsely state in a PIC form dated Aug 12, 2015, that Wan Lin had incurred qualifying expenditure on “external training” purportedly pertaining to the use of an accounting software for $6,750 when, in fact, there was no such expenditure. Lim was not aware that the qualifying expenditure in the PIC form was false.

As a result, Iras disbursed a PIC cash payout of $4,050 under the scheme that Wan Lin was not entitled to.
On Monday, Lim was offered bail of $60,000 while his wife’s bail was set at $30,000.
They are expected to surrender themselves at the State Courts on Feb 1, 2023, to begin serving their sentences.

 

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Man who stole laptop and headbutted policeman after drinking session gets 4 weeks’ jail​

Willy Frida D Burm was also fined $2,500. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Jessie Lim


DEC 13, 2022

SINGAPORE – After downing five glasses of beer at a Holland Village bar, a Belgian man grabbed another customer’s laptop and left the premises with it.
Willy Frida D Burm, a Singapore permanent resident, then stumbled around outside the Wala Wala Cafe Bar, where he was later stopped by police officers.
When the officers arrested him and tried to get him into a police car, Burm headbutted and hurled vulgarities at one of them.
On Tuesday, Burm, 56, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail and fined $2,500 after he pleaded guilty to one count of using criminal force to deter a public servant from doing his duty and another count of using abusive language against a public servant.
Three other charges were taken into consideration.
In January 2020, Burm had some wine at a tapas bar at VivoCity before making his way to Wala Wala, where he drank beer.
Some time after 6pm, Burm walked over to another customer and grabbed his laptop. He then hit the table with the laptop three times.

When a bouncer attempted to intervene, Burm refused to let go of the laptop and left the bar with it.
A member of the public, who had witnessed this incident, called the police, informing them that two customers were having a heated argument.
After he left Wala Wala, Burm was approached by police officers who asked him to hand over the laptop, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sruthi Boppana.
Burm then held the laptop over his head, threatened to drop it on the ground, and eventually did so. The laptop was damaged as a result.
In sentencing, District Judge Jasvender Kaur noted that Burm had displayed a blatant disregard for the authority of the police officers.
Defence lawyer Cheryl Sim, who was representing Burm, said: “The accused is ready to take responsibility for his actions. Not only have these crime proceedings cast a dark shadow over his life, (they) have taken a toll on his emotional and mental well-being.”
For using criminal force against a public servant, an offender can be jailed for up to four years, fined or both.
Those convicted of harassing a public servant can be jailed for up to a year, fined up to $5,000, or both.

 

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Jail for man who raised millions for SME clients which later defaulted on the funds​

Samuel Devaraj

Dec 20, 2022


SINGAPORE - He was the executive director of a company that raised millions of dollars for three of its clients through crowdfunding, but the firm did not hold the required licence to do so.
The three clients later defaulted on the money raised.
On Tuesday, Steven Ling Hoe Khing, a 36-year-old Malaysian, was sentenced to 12 months’ and 10 weeks’ jail. He had pleaded guilty to 22 charges under the Securities and Futures Act, with 50 other charges taken into consideration during his sentencing.
Ling’s co-accused, Nancy Tan Mee Khim, a 46-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to eight months’ jail after she was convicted in 2020 following a trial. An appeal against her conviction and sentence was dismissed in March 2021.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yeo Zhen Xiong Ling said the pair set up Angel Capital Consultancy, which later became Noble Consulting Group, on March 12, 2013.
The firm was in the business of helping small and medium enterprises (SME) raise money by crowdfunding. Tan was its managing director and main decision maker, while Ling was its executive director.
Between July 2013 and July 2014, the firm was involved in the raising of funds for Krish Chartered Bus Services, Glen Iris (Int’l), and Soilwood.

Noble solicited investments from the public for its clients by organising seminars, taking part in investment exhibitions and fairs, created and disseminating marketing materials to potential investors, and appointed agents as portfolio consultants to solicit lenders.
After Noble raised $13,260,000 from the public for its client companies, Glen Iris subsequently began to default around February 2015 and was eventually wound up in mid-2015.
Soilwood began to default in August 2015 and its director could not be located. About $9.5 million ended up being defaulted.

DPP Yeo said that while law firms were engaged to prepare the underlying documents for the various projects, they did not advise Noble on whether any capital markets services licence was required.
The firm did not hold any capital markets services licence to carry on business in any regulated activity and was not exempt from the requirement to do so.
Ling resigned from Noble in July 2014 due to a disagreement with Tan in relation to the firm’s continued business relationship with one of its clients.


Following his departure, the director of Krish requested Ling to continue raising funds for his firm, and Ling incorporated Credo Investments (S) and became its director and sole shareholder.
Between August 2014 and August 2016, Credo, which also did not hold any capital markets services licence, raised $33,352,000 from the public for Krish and KBS JV - a company set up by Krish’s director at Ling’s suggestion.
Sometime in December 2017, Credo’s client companies started to default on payments, with two directors of Krish and KBS JV leaving Singapore in August 2016 without returning. Investigations against them remain ongoing. As at Oct 2017, $10.755 million remained outstanding.
Separately, Credo made offers to investor-lenders that were not made in or accompanied by a prospectus or profile statement, which is required by law.
DPP Yeo said Ling’s role in Credo and Noble meant that the breaches were committed with his consent.
Ling was arrested on Aug 18, 2016. After he was granted bail, he travelled to Malaysia with permission from the police in March 2018.
However, he did not return and by July 2018, and no longer responded to e-mails or calls from investigating officers. A warrant of arrest was issued on Nov 11, 2020, and he was arrested by Malaysian authorities on March 4, 2022.
He was handed over to Singapore authorities on March 17 and charged in court on March 19.

 

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Oil trader fined for squeezing woman's buttock at KTV lounge after networking event​

Emad Abdel Rahman Shehadeh Abdul Wahid told the woman she was attractive, looked good for her age and wanted to see more of her.

Photo illustration of a man committing molest. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

Lydia Lam​

@LydiaLamCNA
22 Dec 2022

SINGAPORE: An oil trader was fined S$4,000 by a court on Thursday (Dec 22) for molesting a woman he met at a networking event.
Emad Abdel Rahman Shehadeh Abdul Wahid, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of using criminal force to outrage the woman's modesty by squeezing her buttock at a KTV lounge.
The court heard that Jordanian national Emad was introduced to the victim, a Singaporean, at a work event on Sep 25.
The victim was working at a local company involved with Emad's line of work.
The pair exchanged name cards, and Emad told the victim that she was very attractive and looked good for her age.
The victim brushed this off and walked away to talk to other people, but Emad continued to look for her. He placed his hand around her waist each time he talked to her.
The victim shifted Emad's hand away and moved away each time.
Emad probed the victim about her relationship status and asked to see her more. He also asked if they could meet for dinner.
He sent the woman a message on WhatsApp, saying he did not get enough of her smile and that he "can't get enough" of her.
This was met with lukewarm reception from the victim, who merely replied "haha", said Deputy Public Prosecutor Timothy Ong.

POST-EVENT KTV​

When the event ended at about 11.30pm, both of them took chartered buses to a karaoke lounge at Central Mall, where their colleagues continued networking.
The victim deliberately chose a separate bus, though Emad wanted to take the same bus.
When the victim got there, she saw that Emad was already seated and intentionally chose another table to sit at.
However, Emad went to her table and told her to sit beside him. She did so, and Emad started telling her that he liked her.
At about 1am on Sep 26 at the lounge, Emad slid his hand under the victim's buttock and squeezed it with force.
At the same time, he told the victim: "You have a very nice ass."
The victim felt that the squeeze was very hard. She was shocked and did not know how to react.
Later, she called a private-hire car for Emad when he said he wanted to leave. Before he left, he hugged the victim and told her he wished to see her again.
She responded that she was "not so sure" about that, as she had many meetings.
Emad continued to text the victim from 1.30am to 3am. He sent messages like: "Thanks a lot for the taxi..am I the luckiest man on this planet to find you" and "I will need to make it up for you..you choose..dinner or drinks" and "Won't take no for an answer".
She told him to stop communicating with her a few days later, as she was uncomfortable with what he had said and his behaviour. Emad apologised and the victim blocked him. A day after this, she lodged a police report.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Timothy Ong called for a S$5,000 fine, saying the act of squeezing, though fleeting, was with considerable force.
The victim felt violated, and Emad's conduct following the event exacerbated her uneasiness, especially when he said he wanted to meet her and would not take no for an answer, said Mr Ong.
Lawyer Ramesh Tiwary also asked for a fine. He said his client had no prior convictions and cooperated in investigations.
He also gave his apology in court for his behaviour and saved the lady from having to testify, said the lawyer.
The judge said he would give a slightly lower fine after taking into consideration Emad's guilty plea and the time spent at the police station.

 

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Last of nine robbers in 2014 heist of over $600,000 gets jail, caning​

Samuel Devaraj

JAN 3, 2023

SINGAPORE - After robbing the manager of a money-changing business of more than $600,000 with a group of men in 2014, Sivaraam Monion fled to Malaysia.
He was arrested by the Malaysian authorities on July 6, 2022. On Tuesday, the 36-year-old Malaysian became the last of nine men to be sentenced for the crime when he was given seven years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
Sivaraam had pleaded guilty in a district court to a gang-robbery charge, with another charge taken into consideration during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim said Sivaraam borrowed RM10,000 (S$3,000) from one of the accomplices, Tachana Moorthy Peromal, in 2014 to alleviate his financial difficulties, but he eventually could not repay his debt.
In April 2014, Tachana and another man planned to rob couriers from a money-changing business of the cash they were transporting. Sivaraam agreed to join them after Tachana promised to waive his debt.
Members of the group entered Singapore on multiple occasions to conduct reconnaissance and plan the robbery. The group was made up of 8 Malaysians and one Singapore permanent resident.
In October 2014, as instructed by Tachana, Sivaraam and two others stole a Singapore-registered Proton Wira car to use during the robbery.

On Nov 4, 2014, they wore balaclavas to conceal their faces during the robbery and also placed plasters on their fingertips so as not to leave traces of their fingerprints behind.
The manager of the money-changing business, a 35-year-old male Singapore permanent resident, left home with his two-year-old son around midnight on Nov 4 and drove to Changi Airport to pick up money from two couriers.
A bag containing more than $624,000 in various currencies as well as two phones was placed in the boot of the car, and the manager dropped the couriers at their homes in Bedok.

He was on his way to the home of his father-in-law, who was the director of the business, to store the cash when the robbers ambushed him at an open-air carpark around 12.50am on Nov 5.
After he reversed his vehicle into a parking space, one of the robbers drove up and blocked his car.
The terrified victim locked the car doors, but one robber broke a window on the driver’s side and the group shouted at him to exit his vehicle. One of them threatened the victim in Tamil: “You want me to kill your son?”
The victim was dragged out of the car, punched and restrained as his son remained in the front passenger seat. The robbers then grabbed the bag containing the bag and fled.
A witness from a nearby block of flats saw the heist and alerted the police.

The robbers fled to Malaysia but were arrested over several years, with the first in November 2014.
On Tuesday, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan rejected Sivaraam’s lawyer’s request for a lower sentence for his client on the basis of lower culpability.
Six of the other eight robbers had also been given seven years’ and 12 strokes.
Agreeing with the prosecution’s call for the same sentence to be meted out to Sivaraam, Judge Tan also noted the duration it took for Sivaraam to be arrested meant it was hardly a case of him showing remorse.

 

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6 weeks’ jail for man who had sexually explicit images, videos of children in his possession​

Randy Rosigit joined a Telegram group chat where members shared pornography, including child abuse content, with one another. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Jan 9, 2023

SINGAPORE – He joined a group chat where members shared pornography on messaging platform Telegram, and later downloaded sexually explicit material involving children.
Indonesian Randy Rosigit, 28, was sentenced to six weeks’ jail on Monday after he pleaded guilty to being in possession of two still images and six videos of sexually explicit content involving children.
One of the videos showed a girl who appeared to be less than six years old.
A search with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority reveals that Randy is a shareholder at two firms – Deeeplabs and Magnetise.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Etsuko Lim said that the Singapore permanent resident had gone onto the Dark Web in 2020 as he was curious about child pornography.
He then paid in Bitcoin to try accessing a website containing such material.
After he failed to obtain its log-in details, Randy joined a Telegram group chat where members shared pornography, including child abuse content, with one another.

Acting on information not disclosed in court documents, police raided his home on Oct 22, 2021, and seized items including a mobile phone and a portable drive.
These were later found to contain sexually explicit pictures and videos of children.
Randy, who is single, was represented by lawyer S.S. Dhillon.
The lawyer from Dhillon & Panoo law firm told the court on Monday that his client is remorseful.
He said: “Randy wished he had exercised extreme prudence and not get himself into a position where his judgment was compromised, leading to the commission of the offence.
“Randy realises that he is the author of his own misery and promises not to... surf the Internet for pornography.”
The offender’s bail was set at $15,000, and he was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on Jan 30 to begin serving his sentence.

 

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9 months’ jail for man who sold his bank account, which was later used in scams​

Nadine Chua

Jan 10, 2023

SINGAPORE – Despite knowing that selling bank accounts is illegal in Singapore, a man sold his account, which was later used to receive more than $138,000 from scam victims.
Chinese national Zhang Demin, 33, was on Tuesday sentenced to nine months’ jail after pleading guilty to one charge under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.
When Zhang came to Singapore in September 2021 to work, he opened a bank account here. Less than two months into the job, he needed to return to China because his father was sick.
He searched online for ways to sell his bank account and found a buyer – an unidentified man to whom he agreed to sell the account and the SIM card linked to it for $1,000.
In November 2021, two days before he was due to leave Singapore, Zhang met the man near his workplace and handed over his ATM card, its PIN, and his Internet mobile banking access identification and password. The man then logged in to Zhang’s online banking account on the spot and locked Zhang’s access.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Qi Shuen said Zhang had arranged for the sale to happen two days before his flight as he knew that selling bank accounts was illegal here and was worried about getting into trouble.
“However, he still did so because he needed money. He was under the impression that his bank account would be used for gambling transactions and had asked for the account to not be used for money laundering activities,” added DPP Goh.


About two weeks after the sale, a victim of an Internet love scam, two victims of a gambling platform scam and three victims of an investment scam transferred a total of $138,475.50 into Zhang’s former bank account.
“The funds that were received in the accused’s account were thus benefits of criminal conduct,” said DPP Goh.
The money was transferred out of the account soon after, and as at Dec 2, 2021, about $2,000 was left in the account.
Zhang, who was unaware his account had been used by scammers, was arrested on Aug 31, 2022, when he returned to Singapore.
In her submissions, DPP Goh said the amount transacted through the bank account was significant and noted that one of the victims was a 60-year-old man who lost $100,000 in an investment scam.


Seeking 10 months’ jail, she said: “While the accused was not aware of the scams... he actively searched for ways to sell his bank account despite knowing it was illegal.
“Furthermore, he had taken steps to avoid detection in arranging for the deal to be carried out two days before he was due to leave Singapore.”
Those found guilty of selling their bank accounts can be fined up to $500,000 or jailed for up to 10 years, or both.

 

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Jail for man linked to scam where retiree’s life savings of $1m were transferred to other bank accounts​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Jan 12, 2023

SINGAPORE - A man has been sentenced to jail as he is linked to a scam that saw a retiree losing $1 million in life savings after the money was transferred to other bank accounts without her knowledge.
Court documents did not state if Dickson Jong Chee Siang was part of the group that scammed the 75-year-old retiree.
The Malaysian had instead recruited a man whose bank account was used to receive about $250,000 of the victim’s money.
Jong, 29, was sentenced to nine months’ jail on Thursday after he admitted to cheating two banks. He also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Computer Misuse Act.
The case involving his alleged accomplice and fellow Malaysian, Lin Chien Wei, 24, is pending.
The prosecution said that on Dec 9, 2021, the senior citizen received phone calls from several people claiming to be from the “Chinese Judicial Investigation Department”.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Hsiao Tien said: “These persons claimed that the victim’s identity had been misused in China, and she was required to assist in investigations.

“These persons instructed the victim to report to them by sending them messages every morning, afternoon and evening to ensure that she remained contactable.”
They also told the victim to provide her personal details such as her identity card number and home address. She complied with their instructions.
In mid-December 2021, she received letters bearing the letterheads of the Singapore Police Force, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the State Courts.

Left outside her door, the letters stated that she was suspected of illegally opening a Chinese bank account.
The victim was told to cooperate with the so-called Chinese Judicial Investigation Department and received a package containing a mobile phone in January 2022.

The DPP told the court: “She was then contacted by someone who directed her to use a ‘Team Link’ video-conferencing application which was pre-installed in the mobile phone.
“She engaged in multiple video calls with various persons on the... application, during which she was instructed to position the phone camera towards her personal mobile phone.”
During these phone calls, her personal mobile phone received several one-time-passwords sent to her by SingPass and UOB.
Without her knowledge, the victim’s life savings totalling $1 million were transferred from her Central Provident Fund account to her UOB bank account on Jan 18, 2022.
After that, the money was transferred to other bank accounts between Jan 28 and Feb 3, 2022. The victim lodged a police report on Feb 4, 2022.
DPP Tan said that according to police investigations, Lin was traced as the holder of one of the bank accounts that received part of the victim’s money – around $250,000.
The same bank account had received ill-gotten gains totalling nearly $500,000, and part of it were proceeds of other scams not disclosed in court documents.

The prosecutor added that Jong had recruited Lin to sell his bank account in exchange for money. She also said that Lin was told that he could receive $600 for doing so.
Jong was traced and arrested on Feb 23, 2022. He has not made any restitution.
Separately, he also cheated two financial institutions – Standard Chartered Bank and CIMB – by claiming to be the ultimate beneficial owner of his accounts with them.
Instead, he had allowed others to gain control of his bank accounts and received $1,800 in return.
He committed these offences in December 2021.
Jong’s bail was set at $15,000 on Thursday, and he was told to surrender himself at the State Courts on Jan 31 to begin serving his sentence.