In November 2017, a victim of a China Officials Impersonation scam lost about S$5.4 million to scammers after she was led to believe that she had to surrender all her monies to the authorities to assist in investigations. Police investigations revealed that she delivered her money to different strangers at various locations in Singapore over a one-week period. The suspects then left Singapore after committing the crime.
On 14 May 2018, one of the suspects, a 31-year-old Malaysian man, was arrested in Kuala Lumpur for his suspected involvement in the scam. With the assistance of the Royal Malaysia Police, the suspect was brought back to Singapore on 15 May 2018. He will be charged in court on 16 May 2018 with dishonestly receiving stolen property.
If convicted, the man faces an imprisonment term of up to 5 years, or fined or both. In January 2018, with the assistance of the Royal Malaysia Police, a 20-year-old Malaysian man was similarly arrested for his involvement in the same case. He has since been charged in court for money laundering offences.
Director of the Commercial Affairs Department, Mr David Chew, said, “This recent arrest is a testament to the continuing resolve of the Singapore Police and our foreign counterparts to track down and bring to justice those criminals who target our citizens and try to evade responsibility for their crimes by leaving Singapore. I would like to thank the Royal Malaysia Police for their strong support and assistance in arresting the suspect in this case.”
The Police advise members of the public to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls to surrender their money in order to avoid the initiation of criminal investigations against them:
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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 ask you for personal banking information such as your internet banking passwords.
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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.
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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.
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Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. Do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively.
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To seek scam-related advice, you may call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
15 May 2018 @ 8:45 PM