SINGAPORE: A teenager who struggled financially after finishing secondary school juggled part-time jobs but could not cover her spending habits, so she turned to crime for "fast cash" to pay for her bills.
She deceived multiple victims of S$25,900 over about two years, pretending to sell items such as Korean pop tickets online, but failing to deliver them.
She said she used the money to pay for medical bills while she was pregnant, as well as food and other items for her family, according to court documents.
The offender, now 20, was sentenced to six months' detention in a reformative training centre on Wednesday (Nov 24).
The court heard that the girl, who cannot be named as she committed some offences when she was under 18, has poor parental support and probation is not suitable for her.
Her mother felt it would be "stressful" for the family to care for the offender's children if she received jail time, and her father was initially unwilling to sign a probation bond for her as he felt it was a "big responsibility to undertake".
Court documents did not mention how many children the offender has.
The court heard that the girl began struggling financially in November 2019, after she finished secondary school.
She worked part-time jobs, but did not make enough to cover her spending habits. She began conducting online scams using different names on social media and messaging platforms between November 2019 and August 2021.
In one instance, she tricked a victim into transferring S$200 to her for K-pop concert tickets, and later asked for a loan of S$200 to tide through her mother's purported leukemia.
She would pretend to have K-pop concert tickets for sale on Twitter, and also deceived her friends into transferring her sums of cash.
Multiple victims lodged police reports and the girl was hauled up for investigations. In September 2020, when giving her statement to the police, the girl lied that she had helped two men open two bank accounts in exchange for cash.
The men were summoned to the police station for investigations, but were later cleared, according to court documents. The offender later admitted that she had lied to avoid implicating herself in the scams.
While on bail, the girl committed six fresh similar offences.
She pleaded guilty to 19 charges including cheating, retaining stolen property and providing false information to the police. Another 40 charges were considered in sentencing.
The prosecutor sought reformative training for the offender, stating the significant amount of money involved across all 59 charges.
Despite being charged and on bail, the offender was "undeterred and continued to offend", said the prosecutor.
She said probation was not suitable for the offender, highlighting poor parental support and their lack of ability to supervise the accused.
PROBATION UNSUITABLE
A report assessing the girl's suitability for probation found several risk factors including her "pro-criminal attitudes and a readiness to resort to illegal means for her own benefit", as well as "anti-social attitudes" and repeated offending.
She has a strained relationship with her mother, with her misbehaviour going unnoticed and unaddressed, said the prosecutor.
While her parents were willing to support her rehabilitation, their inability to suggest concrete plans to supervise her and prevent her from committing further offences is a concern, said the prosecutor.
The offender lives with her mother, who said that she may not be able to supervise her daughter as she may travel overseas regularly to visit her fiance, according to court documents.
The offender's father was initially not willing to sign the probation bond as he felt it was a "big responsibility" for him to undertake, as he is the sole breadwinner for his family.
He initially felt it would be better for his daughter to get reformative training, but later expressed commitment to sign a probation bond as he did not want her to be jailed while pregnant and wanted to give her a chance to change her attitude and behaviour.
However, the offender's father felt he had "limited ability to supervise her well given his long working hours and family commitments".
He does not play a disciplinary or caregiving role, meeting his daughter once in a few months for meals and maintaining contact otherwise through calls and messages.
The reformative training suitability report also found that the offender justified her cheating offences as a means to obtain money quickly to contribute to her family's expenses.
She said she committed the offences as she felt like she could get away with them, and said she lied to the police as she was "desperate and scared" of being sent to prison as she was pregnant at the time.
For each charge of cheating, she could have been jailed up to 10 years and fined.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sin...tims-s25900-gets-reformative-training-2335446
