The Police have arrested a 45-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman for their suspected involvements in two separate series of non-fulfilment of hotel room package bookings after payments were made.
For the first series, the Police received multiple reports in December 2021 from victims who purportedly failed to receive their hotel bookings despite making payment to the unknown seller. The victims came across the man’s purported advertisement for hotel bookings on e-commerce platform, Carousell, and proceeded to liaise with him via WhatsApp. After payments were made by the victims via bank transfers and PayNow, they allegedly failed to receive the hotel bookings.
Through investigations, officers from Woodlands Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on 15 December 2021. Preliminary investigations revealed that the man was allegedly involved in at least 29 similar cases with total reported losses amounting to $30,000.
The man will be charged in court on 17 December 2021 with cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine.
For the separate second series, the Police received several reports in December 2021 from victims who were purportedly cheated by a seller offering discounted hotel room booking packages, for numerous popular hotels in Singapore via a social media platform. After payments were made by the victims through bank transfers and PayNow, they failed to receive the bookings.
Through investigations, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department established the identity of the woman and arrested her for the offence of cheating. She is currently assisting with investigations.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman is believed to be involved with more than 300 non-fulfilments of hotel room package bookings with total reported losses amounting to more than $400,000.
The Police take a serious view of persons who may be involved in scams and frauds, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. The Police would like to advise members of the public to be very careful when making online hotel bookings:
- If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
- Avoid making impulsive booking and purchase only from authorised dealer or reputable sources.
- Check with official sources such as the Singapore Tourism Board (www.stb.gov.sg) and the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (www.natas.travel) if the vendor is an accredited travel agent.
- Opt for escrow payment where funds are only released after the buyer confirms the receipt of the product or service.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
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SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
16 December 2021 @ 11:05 PM