Over the last week, two men were convicted of money laundering offences and jailed for their involvement in China Officials Impersonation Scams. The victims had received calls from scammers purporting to be local or foreign law enforcement officers, and were cheated into believing that they were being investigated for transnational crimes. The victims were then directed to surrender their monies to the scammers for further investigations.
Chow Wai Chung, an 18-year-old Malaysian man, collected a total of S$392,600 belonging to four victims of these scams between 30 May 2018 and 1 June 2018. He was then working for an international criminal syndicate as a money mule. Chow was arrested on 1 June 2018 by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department, and subsequently charged in court. On 18 January 2019, he pleaded guilty to one charge under Section 44(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Offences (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, Chapter 65A (CDSA), for assisting another party in the retention and transfer of his criminal benefits. Chow was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment.
Wong Seng Wai, a 30-year-old Malaysian man, entered Singapore to collect monies from victims of similar scams. Similar to Chow, he was working for a foreign criminal syndicate as a money mule. On 24 June 2018, together with an accomplice, he collected S$48,000 in cash from a victim. Between 14 and 16 August 2018, Wong worked with three accomplices to collect S$7,110 and RMB¥5,020 from two other victims. He was arrested in an operation conducted by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department on 17 August 2018. Wong pleaded guilty to two charges under Section 44(1), CDSA on 21 January 2019 and was sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment. His accomplices have all been arrested and charged in court for money laundering offences. Their cases are currently undergoing court proceedings.
The Police advise members of the public to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls to surrender money in order to avoid criminal investigations:
• Ignore such calls and the caller’s instructions. No government agency will demand payment through an undocumented medium like a telephone call or other social messaging platforms (WeChat or Facebook); or demand that you surrender cash to unnamed persons or ask you for personal banking information such as your internet banking passwords.
• For foreigner residents receiving calls from persons claiming to be police officers or government officials from your home country, please call your Embassy/High Commission to verify the claims of the caller.
• Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details, whether on a website or to callers over the phone. Personal information and bank details such as internet bank account usernames and passwords, OTP codes from tokens, are useful to criminals. Do not make any funds transfer at the behest of such callers.
• Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. Do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively.
• To seek scam related advice, you may call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or visit www.scamalert.sg.
Chow Wai Chung, an 18-year-old Malaysian man, collected a total of S$392,600 belonging to four victims of these scams between 30 May 2018 and 1 June 2018. He was then working for an international criminal syndicate as a money mule. Chow was arrested on 1 June 2018 by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department, and subsequently charged in court. On 18 January 2019, he pleaded guilty to one charge under Section 44(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Offences (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, Chapter 65A (CDSA), for assisting another party in the retention and transfer of his criminal benefits. Chow was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment.
Wong Seng Wai, a 30-year-old Malaysian man, entered Singapore to collect monies from victims of similar scams. Similar to Chow, he was working for a foreign criminal syndicate as a money mule. On 24 June 2018, together with an accomplice, he collected S$48,000 in cash from a victim. Between 14 and 16 August 2018, Wong worked with three accomplices to collect S$7,110 and RMB¥5,020 from two other victims. He was arrested in an operation conducted by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department on 17 August 2018. Wong pleaded guilty to two charges under Section 44(1), CDSA on 21 January 2019 and was sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment. His accomplices have all been arrested and charged in court for money laundering offences. Their cases are currently undergoing court proceedings.
The Police advise members of the public to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls to surrender money in order to avoid criminal investigations:
• Ignore such calls and the caller’s instructions. No government agency will demand payment through an undocumented medium like a telephone call or other social messaging platforms (WeChat or Facebook); or demand that you surrender cash to unnamed persons or ask you for personal banking information such as your internet banking passwords.
• For foreigner residents receiving calls from persons claiming to be police officers or government officials from your home country, please call your Embassy/High Commission to verify the claims of the caller.
• Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details, whether on a website or to callers over the phone. Personal information and bank details such as internet bank account usernames and passwords, OTP codes from tokens, are useful to criminals. Do not make any funds transfer at the behest of such callers.
• Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. Do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively.
• To seek scam related advice, you may call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or visit www.scamalert.sg.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
23 January 2019 @ 9:40 PM
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
23 January 2019 @ 9:40 PM