Run road with 32 million collected

[Cottonmouth]

MinLaw suspends company's licence over undelivered luxury goods worth $32m​

Police reports have been made against the couple over undelivered luxury goods, mostly watches, worth at least $32 million. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

Nadine Chua

PUBLISHED

4 HOURS AGO

SINGAPORE - Eager to get two Rolex watches to sell for a profit, watch collector Max (not his real name) paid a couple $280,000 for them and for a Patek Philippe watch.

He did so even before receiving the watches.

When the couple became uncontactable, he realised his money was as good as gone.

And Max is not the only one.

The Straits Times understands police reports have been made against the couple over undelivered luxury goods, mostly watches,
worth at least $32 million.

Over the past week, ST spoke to 10 victims, aged between 24 and 52. They included a chef, an interior designer, an advertising manager and a retiree.


Most of them said they trusted the couple as their business was registered as a regulated dealer and had a certificate from the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) to prove it.


In response to queries, a MinLaw spokesman said the business, named Tradenation, was registered as a precious stones and precious metals dealer on April 2.

"Registered dealers are regulated by the Registrar of Regulated Dealers only for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism purposes," said a MinLaw spokesman.

Tradenation submitted its registration application to MinLaw as it was conducting regulated dealing and at the point of registration, there were no grounds to refuse the registration, said MinLaw.

The spokesman added: "MinLaw has suspended Tradenation's registration due to the ongoing police investigations. As police investigations are ongoing, we are unable to comment further.

"If Tradenation is found guilty of an offence following the police investigations, MinLaw will terminate the registration of Tradenation."

Max, 48, who works in manufacturing, said he had entrusted most of his life savings to them in April.

He said: "I haven't slept properly in two months. I just keep thinking how stupid I was to trust them. My wife still doesn't know about the money I lost. How can I even tell her?"

Max made his first purchase with the couple last November.

He spent $72,000 on a Rolex Daytona and it was delivered to his home a month after he made the order. Max had the watch authenticated.

He said: "That was when I began trusting them. I even became friends with them and we would go out for dinner.

"I made eight more purchases with them in a span of three months, but sold most of those watches to make a profit."

His nightmare started when the watches he ordered in April never arrived. The couple blamed the delay on supply chain issues and avoided his calls.

He knew he had been scammed when he was added in a group chat on messaging platform Telegram with more than140 other angry customers of the couple who also had not received their goods, which included Hermes Birkin and Kelly bags, and Rolex and Patek Philippe watches.

The group chat was created by the couple in June to inform their customers of the delay. Victims said the couple threatened them in the chat that if they made police reports, they would not receive their goods.

Choking up, Max said: "I feel betrayed. I went on holiday with my wife and kids last month, and I had to put up a front that I was okay, because I couldn't tell my family."

Over 140 customers have not received their goods, which include Hermes Birkin and Kelly bags, and Rolex and Patek Philippe watches. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

Another person who lodged a police report against the couple was Ms Tan, 24, a fresh graduate from a local university, who works in marketing. She had paid $62,500 for a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in March but it never arrived.

Ms Tan, who declined to reveal her full name, said the watch was supposed to be a post-graduation gift to herself.

She said: "The watch would normally cost $70,000, so I thought it was a good deal. They had multiple good reviews and I also bought a $27,000 Rolex from them in October last year which was delivered in a month. So, I trusted them completely."

Ms Tan said she feels helpless, adding: “I just don’t think I will see that money again, which is frustrating because it is my hard-earned money I worked for by doing event jobs while studying.”

Another victim, Mr Wang, lost $68,000 after placing an order for two Rolex watches as he felt they would be a good investment.

Also declining to reveal his full name, Mr Wang, who works in advertising, 39, said: "I'm not a watch enthusiast, but I thought I could buy watches now and sell them for a profit.

"I saved up for many years to buy the watches. All I can say is this was such a bad investment."

What to look out for when buying luxury goods from resellers/dealers​

- Pay a deposit upon ordering the goods. Do not pay the full amount until you have received them.
- Make payment via a bank transfer and request for a receipt.
- Check the seller's reviews across various platforms.
- Purchase from sellers who have physical stores.
- Buying from an approved and licensed dealer is safer than buying from an unregulated entity.
- Walk away from deals that seem too good to be true.

Sources: Mr William Tan, manager of luxury goods dealer Watch Exchange, and Mr Tom Chng, founder of Singapore Watch Club.

 

[Cottonmouth]

Updated: 5th July 2022

In the beginning of May this year, I paid SGD30,000 for a Rolex GMT-Master II 126711CHNR and was promised a delivery date on 1st June but the watch did not arrive.

Instead, the admin of Tradenation / Tradeluxury kept on using different reasons which is merely delay tactics to keep asking me to wait with no commitment on the exact date when I will be getting my order fulfilled.

Yes I was greedy and gullible. For those who are in the same plight, I urge you to stop pinning hopes. At least, do something than just wait and allow the daily rhetoric to start becoming 'normal' to you.

When retail companies don't fulfil their contracts within the agreed timeframe, they don't handle situations in such a dubious manner. This is not normal.

As of now, both Tradenation and Tradeluxury are under police investigation and both companies' corporate accounts are freeze. This basically means that access into the bank accounts are blocked and nobody can perform any transactions on these account. The accounts can no longer received any incoming funds too.

At least there will not be anymore unknowing victims paying them hoping for something that will not be fulfilled. Do note that as of now, only Tradenation's and Tradeluxury's corporate accounts were frozen. The owner's personal accounts are still accessible. This is just some information for those who wish to know but it is certainly nothing substantial from these findings alone.

If you are one who had been scammed, for the record, YOU MUST lodge a police report. Please take note that this step is crucial and it is totally a SEPARATE issue from recovering your lost funds.

The report is mainly to allow SPF to at least have a grasp of the total damage they have caused so far. These facts will be needed for AGC and eventually, if they are convicted, it also provides a guidance for the prosecutors to recommend an appropriate sentence in court.

An investigation procedure will first start with an arrest to take their statements as well as gathering of evidences through their phones, computer records and bank transactions.

The IO will then collate everything properly with a final report to AGC. I believe they are now being investigated under sections 405 to 409 of the Penal Code - Criminal Breach of Trust (CBT).

This process will be around 12 months to completed depending on the complexity of the case. Referencing to a previous case surrounding City Harvest Church, the investigation took 2 years from May 2010 to June 2012 .In the case of Sunshine Empire, the investigation took around 15 months between November 2007 and February 2009.

Moving on, I would not know what can be concluded from the investigations and if the IO is able to gather enough evidence to present it to AGC. Ultimately, I also cannot be sure if AGC finds the evidences compelling enough to press charges. To proceed with that, AGC will need to be confident that they are able to prove that the accused are guilty BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT.

This will take another 1-2 months to deliberate. If charges are pressed, the accused will need to be charged in court and the judge will decide if they can be granted bail and if they can, what will be the bail amount?

This decision will be fully relied on the prosecutors’ recommendation.

Reference to City Harvest Church’s CBT case, each accused’s bail was set at $500,000 and for Sunshine Empire, $600,000 each. Once they are charged, the time the whole trial might take including monthly hearing, prosecutor’s conclusive decision on the charges, defence lawyer’s negotiations, pre-trial conferences and their sentencing day is dependent on many factors.

Whether or not they will plead guilty or claim trial, whether if they will appeal the sentence after it is read just to list a couple of them. Referencing to the case of City Harvest Church, they were charged in June 2012 and most of the accused only started serving their sentence around 5 years later and one of them, Chew, started serving around 10 years later in Feb 2022.

On the other hand, for Sunshine Empire’s case, their whole court proceeding was around 18 months in total. How about the plausible sentence they might face? I can only use the 2 cases I used earlier as a reference. Sunshine Empire, lured Singaporeans into handing over nearly $190 million. James Phang Wah, the founder and "international president" of the now-defunct multi-level marketing firm, Sunshine Empire was sentenced to nine years' jail and fined $60,000.

It stated that there were misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of City Harvest Church. There were irregularities of at least $23 million in the church's funds, which were used to finance Sun Ho's secular music career. Kong Hee was seen to be the "key man" behind the scandal who had guided his five accomplices by the Singapore court of three charges of criminal breach of trust. He was sentenced to 8 years, reduced to 3 years 6 months imprisonment on appeal.

I know the ultimate question that many of you are having now is "can I get my money back?" the quick answer to this will be I don't know because I don't have a crystal ball to see the future. Let's not speculate and think about issues that are not within our control.

The methods you can consider to take as an attempt to recover your money includes but not limited to the following: - File a claim through Small Claims Tribunal.

This method will only allow you to seek for a claim up to SGD20,000 only. - Engage a lawyer to officially send a letter of demand and to prepare to sue them in civil court if they do not respond.

Be prepared that the legal cost involving such case will be very costly. - If you are able to find or contact them directly, try to engage them for a discussion and agree on a resolution - though I must say based on their track record where they obviously have no regards to the law, constantly perpetuates falsehoods with no basis at all, this method will likely not work.

They also do not have any compassion towards another human being. I don't think logic will work with people with such a mindset.

Take note：
• Every method has its pros and con.
• There is no guarantee that your funds can partially or fully be recovered using any of the above methods.
• For most debts, the time limit is 6 years. I am unsure if this apply to such case. You must wholeheartedly accept the fact that it is unlikely you will be able to recover the funds. After you have exhausted all methods, there must be a time you need to tell yourself to move on and heal from that point. I hope you will find new courage to face tomorrow.

 

[glockman]

S$30K gone! At least use it to buy BTC lah, still got chance to huat ah!

 

[Cottonmouth]

S$30K gone! At least use it to buy BTC lah, still got chance to huat ah!

Lucky I wear a casio basic watch, don't have such problems.

 

[laksaboy]

Only buy cheap or used items on Carousell e.g. used ('pre-loved') underwear.

And try to arrange a face-to-face meetup and transaction. Pay cash, receive the item.

 

[blackmondy]

Either Sinkies are simply too trusting with others or they hate socializing.
I will make it a point to meet up with buyers even if buying a $10 thing from them.

 

[countryman]

Fresh graduate @24 can spent 62k for a watch..? Must be from some very affluent background..

 

[Cottonmouth]

Fresh graduate @24 can spent 62k for a watch..? Must be from some very affluent background..

Could be a FL too, 2 sets of hardworking lips.

 

[Balls2U]

Lucky I wear a casio basic watch, don't have such problems.

View attachment 152976

Trying to emulate Kee Chiu?

 

[Cottonmouth]

Trying to emulate Kee Chiu?

He was just a little bitch when I was wearing this.

 

[SBFNews]

MinLaw suspends company's licence over undelivered luxury goods worth $32m​

Police reports have been made against the couple over undelivered luxury goods, mostly watches, worth at least $32 million. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

Nadine Chua

PUBLISHED

4 HOURS AGO

SINGAPORE - Eager to get two Rolex watches to sell for a profit, watch collector Max (not his real name) paid a couple $280,000 for them and for a Patek Philippe watch.

He did so even before receiving the watches.

When the couple became uncontactable, he realised his money was as good as gone.

And Max is not the only one.

The Straits Times understands police reports have been made against the couple over undelivered luxury goods, mostly watches,
worth at least $32 million.

Over the past week, ST spoke to 10 victims, aged between 24 and 52. They included a chef, an interior designer, an advertising manager and a retiree.


Most of them said they trusted the couple as their business was registered as a regulated dealer and had a certificate from the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) to prove it.


In response to queries, a MinLaw spokesman said the business, named Tradenation, was registered as a precious stones and precious metals dealer on April 2.

"Registered dealers are regulated by the Registrar of Regulated Dealers only for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism purposes," said a MinLaw spokesman.

Tradenation submitted its registration application to MinLaw as it was conducting regulated dealing and at the point of registration, there were no grounds to refuse the registration, said MinLaw.

The spokesman added: "MinLaw has suspended Tradenation's registration due to the ongoing police investigations. As police investigations are ongoing, we are unable to comment further.

"If Tradenation is found guilty of an offence following the police investigations, MinLaw will terminate the registration of Tradenation."

Max, 48, who works in manufacturing, said he had entrusted most of his life savings to them in April.

He said: "I haven't slept properly in two months. I just keep thinking how stupid I was to trust them. My wife still doesn't know about the money I lost. How can I even tell her?"

Max made his first purchase with the couple last November.

He spent $72,000 on a Rolex Daytona and it was delivered to his home a month after he made the order. Max had the watch authenticated.

He said: "That was when I began trusting them. I even became friends with them and we would go out for dinner.

"I made eight more purchases with them in a span of three months, but sold most of those watches to make a profit."

His nightmare started when the watches he ordered in April never arrived. The couple blamed the delay on supply chain issues and avoided his calls.

He knew he had been scammed when he was added in a group chat on messaging platform Telegram with more than140 other angry customers of the couple who also had not received their goods, which included Hermes Birkin and Kelly bags, and Rolex and Patek Philippe watches.

The group chat was created by the couple in June to inform their customers of the delay. Victims said the couple threatened them in the chat that if they made police reports, they would not receive their goods.

Choking up, Max said: "I feel betrayed. I went on holiday with my wife and kids last month, and I had to put up a front that I was okay, because I couldn't tell my family."

Over 140 customers have not received their goods, which include Hermes Birkin and Kelly bags, and Rolex and Patek Philippe watches. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

Another person who lodged a police report against the couple was Ms Tan, 24, a fresh graduate from a local university, who works in marketing. She had paid $62,500 for a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in March but it never arrived.

Ms Tan, who declined to reveal her full name, said the watch was supposed to be a post-graduation gift to herself.

She said: "The watch would normally cost $70,000, so I thought it was a good deal. They had multiple good reviews and I also bought a $27,000 Rolex from them in October last year which was delivered in a month. So, I trusted them completely."

Ms Tan said she feels helpless, adding: “I just don’t think I will see that money again, which is frustrating because it is my hard-earned money I worked for by doing event jobs while studying.”

Another victim, Mr Wang, lost $68,000 after placing an order for two Rolex watches as he felt they would be a good investment.

Also declining to reveal his full name, Mr Wang, who works in advertising, 39, said: "I'm not a watch enthusiast, but I thought I could buy watches now and sell them for a profit.

"I saved up for many years to buy the watches. All I can say is this was such a bad investment."

What to look out for when buying luxury goods from resellers/dealers​

- Pay a deposit upon ordering the goods. Do not pay the full amount until you have received them.
- Make payment via a bank transfer and request for a receipt.
- Check the seller's reviews across various platforms.
- Purchase from sellers who have physical stores.
- Buying from an approved and licensed dealer is safer than buying from an unregulated entity.
- Walk away from deals that seem too good to be true.

Sources: Mr William Tan, manager of luxury goods dealer Watch Exchange, and Mr Tom Chng, founder of Singapore Watch Club.

They paid full advance payment out of greed to resell for a profit. No medicine can cure stupidity.

 

[Cottonmouth]

They paid full advance payment out of greed to resell for a profit. No medicine can cure stupidity.

Too bad that they got checked mate by someone smarter.

 

[Cottonmouth]

 

[Pinkieslut]

Couple behind $32m undelivered luxury goods fled Singapore in lorry compartment​

Wong Casandra
·Senior Reporter
Wed, 20 July 2022 at 9:38 pm·2-min read

At least 180 reports have been lodged against the couple since June, involving two companies, Tradenation and Tradeluxury. (PHOTOS: Reuters, Shin Min Daily News 新明日报/Facebook)
SINGAPORE — A couple who allegedly failed to deliver at least $32 million worth of luxury watches and bags to their customers had fled Singapore by hiding in a container compartment of a lorry.
In response to media queries by Yahoo News Singapore, a spokesperson with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Wednesday (20 July) said a 40-year-old Malaysian man had helped the couple to leave Singapore illegally.
The Malaysian was arrested and charged last Friday for his role in the couple's escape on 4 July.
"ICA takes a serious view of attempts to enter or depart Singapore illegally and will not hesitate to prosecute offenders for such cases. We are working closely with the relevant authorities on this case," said the spokesperson.
While ICA conducts "100 per cent" checks on arrival conveyances, it also adopts a "risk management approach" for checks on departing conveyances. Its aim is to balance between ensuring smooth departure clearance and border security at the checkpoints.
Departing conveyances may be directed for further checks based on risk profiling or any information received, the spokesperson added.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.
Update your settings here to see it.
Singapore police on Wednesday said arrest warrants and Interpol notices have been issued against the couple – a 26-year-old Singaporean man, Pi Jiapeng, and his 27-year-old Thai wife, Pansuk Siriwipa.
Pi was arrested by the police on 27 June for his suspected involvement in the cheating offences. He was released on bail the next day with his passport impounded. Siriwipa, who was assisting the police with their investigation, surrendered her passport to the police on 30 June.
The duo subsequently became uncontactable.
At least 180 reports have been lodged since June against two companies, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, which the couple are associated with.
Their victims claimed that they made payments for luxury watches or bags to the companies, which then failed to deliver the goods.
The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said Tradenation was registered as a precious stones and metals dealer on 2 April. Registered dealers are regulated in order to guard against anti-money laundering and terrorism financing.
At the point of registration, there were no grounds to refuse Tradenation a licence, said MinLaw. Tradenation's registration has since been suspended by MinLaw and can be terminated upon conviction.

 

[mojito]

Land of schemes and scams as sir laksaboy would say.

 

[laksaboy]

Land of schemes and scams as sir laksaboy would say.

A very conducive cuntry for scammers, very gullible daft Sinkies are used to being fooled by the PAP regime for decades.

 

[eatshitndie]

don’t even need passports to run from sg. bail and impound of passport will not deter criminals from escaping on sampans, floatation devices, lorries, cars, feet. what a joke!

 

[LexLuthor]

Max, 48, who works in manufacturing, said he had entrusted most of his life savings to them in April.

He said: "I haven't slept properly in two months. I just keep thinking how stupid I was to trust them. My wife still doesn't know about the money I lost. How can I even tell her?"

Max made his first purchase with the couple last November.

He spent $72,000 on a Rolex Daytona and it was delivered to his home a month after he made the order. Max had the watch authenticated.

He said: "That was when I began trusting them. I even became friends with them and we would go out for dinner.

"I made eight more purchases with them in a span of three months, but sold most of those watches to make a profit."

His nightmare started when the watches he ordered in April never arrived. The couple blamed the delay on supply chain issues and avoided his calls.

He knew he had been scammed when he was added in a group chat on messaging platform Telegram with more than 140 other angry customers of the couple who also had not received their goods, which included Hermes Birkin and Kelly bags, and Rolex and Patek Philippe watches.

The group chat was created by the couple in June to inform their customers of the delay. Victims said the couple threatened them in the chat that if they made police reports, they would not receive their goods.

Choking up, Max said: "I feel betrayed. I went on holiday with my wife and kids last month, and I had to put up a front that I was okay, because I couldn't tell my family."

Another person who lodged a police report against the couple was Ms Tan, 24, a fresh graduate from a local university, who works in marketing. She had paid $62,500 for a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in March but it never arrived.

Ms Tan, who declined to reveal her full name, said the watch was supposed to be a post-graduation gift to herself.

She said: "The watch would normally cost $70,000, so I thought it was a good deal. They had multiple good reviews and I also bought a $27,000 Rolex from them in October last year which was delivered in a month. So, I trusted them completely."

Ms Tan said she feels helpless, adding: “I just don’t think I will see that money again, which is frustrating because it is my hard-earned money I worked for by doing event jobs while studying.”

Another victim, Mr Wang, lost $68,000 after placing an order for two Rolex watches as he felt they would be a good investment.

Also declining to reveal his full name, Mr Wang, who works in advertising, 39, said: "I'm not a watch enthusiast, but I thought I could buy watches now and sell them for a profit.

"I saved up for many years to buy the watches. All I can say is this was such a bad investment."

 

[eatshitndie]

if sinkies were to buy relax watches they would have avoided this scam.

 

[laksaboy]

don’t even need passports to run from sg. bail and impound of passport will not deter criminals from escaping on sampans, floatation devices, lorries, cars, feet. what a joke!

Mas Selamat has shown the way. He was smart enough to flee the island, but not smart enough to evade the Malaysian police.

And it happened under the watch of Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, whose only achievement in life was sticking his penis into a Familee relative.