18 hours Ago By New Straits Times
SINGAPORE: Five Malaysian men involved in a transnational scam syndicate have been sentenced to prison and fined for deceiving at least 70 victims in Singapore, swindling them out of over SGD164,000 (RM 562,520).According to The Straits Times, the syndicate operated from a scam centre in Johor Bahru, preying primarily on elderly victims aged between 68 and 76 years old by impersonating as their acquaintances and requesting financial assistance.The scammers, who joined the operation between May and August 2023, worked in groups to target multiple victims simultaneously.
They were housed in condominium units at Marina Residence JB, where they executed the scam under the direction of an individual known as Tong Hua Shun.Among the five, Chua Zi Huang, 24, received the longest sentence of four years and seven months in jail, along with a SGD12,000 fine. If he fails to pay, he will serve an additional 25 days behind bars.
Chua was responsible for scamming 54 victims, who transferred over SGD117,000 to the syndicate.Loh Chuan Sheng, 36, was sentenced to four years and four months in jail for deceiving 53 victims, who collectively lost $116,560. He was also fined $21,000, with a default jail term of 40 days if unpaid.
Kek Yuan Chun, 20, who cheated 52 victims out of $116,060, was sentenced to four years and two months in jail and fined SGD9,000, with 20 additional days in jail if he fails to pay.Meanwhile, Heng Guo Hao, 27, and Yee Kong Yao, 37, were found guilty of cheating 16 victims of more than SGD47,000. Both were sentenced to three and a half years in jail, with Heng fined SGD15,000 and given 30 extra days if unpaid, while Yee was fined SGD11,000 and given 25 extra days if unpaid.
All five men pleaded guilty to cheating charges in March. They were each paid RM3,000 per month for the first three months before their salaries increased to RM5,000–RM5,500, with most also receiving 10 per cent commissions on the amounts they scammed.The syndicate operated through Telegram groups, where Tong Hua Shun distributed lists of potential victims, each containing around 200 Singapore-registered numbers.
The scammers followed pre-written scripts during calls, first asking victims if their voice sounded familiar.When the victims guessed a friend's name, the scammers assumed that identity and continued messaging them over the next few days before eventually persuading them to transfer money.Deputy public prosecutors Daphne Lim and Teng Yin Hang stated in court documents that the accused would assume the identity of the friend and continue exchanging messages with the callee on WhatsApp over the next few days.
"Thereafter, the callee would be cheated into transferring monies to bank accounts controlled by the transnational syndicate under various false pretexts."Once victims transferred the funds, the scammers sent screenshots of the transactions to their Telegram groups, allowing Tong or his assistant to provide new bank account details for further scams.The Singapore Police Force and the Royal Malaysian Police collaborated on the investigation, leading to a joint operation on Jan 16, 2024, where Malaysian authorities raided the Marina Residence JB and arrested the five men.
They were subsequently extradited to Singapore and charged in court.© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd.
