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Zhao Yun
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Jul 8, 2011
Man jailed for cheating in kidnap ruse
By Elena Chong
Tay Beng Guan, 32, was jailed for 24 weeks on Friday for faking a kidnap in the Philippines and duping his colleague into transferring money into his bank account to pay the kidnappers. -- PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
A MAN who faked a kidnap in the Philippines and duped his colleague into transferring money into his bank account to pay the kidnappers was jailed for 24 weeks on Friday.
Tay Beng Guan, 32, was working as a funeral assistant when he cheated his colleague, Mr Simon Koh Eng Hock, 53, of a total of $4,550 between Aug 30 and Sept 5 last year.
He pleaded guilty last month to two counts of deceiving the victim into believing that he was kidnapped and needed money as ransom to pay the kidnappers failing which he would be harmed.
The court heard that Tay was visiting his girlfriend in the Philippines last year when he lost almost all his money at a casino.
He was approached by a Filipino man who suggested that he lie to his friends and family that he had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers wanted ransom.
Tay, now an odd-job worker, has made full restitution. He could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined on each charge.
