bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Five Malaysian men believed to be from a transnational scam syndicate targeting Singaporeans in “fake friend” call scams were charged in court on Wednesday.
The men, aged between 19 and 36, were extradited to Singapore a day earlier, following a raid of two flats in Johor Bahru by Malaysian police.
The accused are: Loh Chuan Sheng, 35; Kek Yuan Chun, 19; Heng Guo Hao, 25; Yee Kong Yao, 36, and Chua Zi Huang, 23.
They huddled together in handcuffs, looking sullen, when they appeared in court via video-link from their place of remand.
The men were handed one charge each of being part of a criminal conspiracy with each other and “others unknown” to cheat people living in Singapore.
They allegedly deceived the victims into believing that they were communicating with people they knew over the phone, and induced them into making PayNow bank transfers to third parties.
According to charge sheets, the alleged offences took place “in Singapore and elsewhere” in January 2024.
All in: Southeast Asia’s Casinoland is ‘underground bank’ for organised crime
The prosecution said the men are believed to be “involved in a syndicated offence” and asked for them to be remanded with permission to take them out for investigations.
According to a police statement, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of the Royal Malaysia Police shared information with each other on fake friend call scams.
This was after more than 6,300 victims fell prey to such scams and lost at least S$21.1 million (US$15.7 million) in total from January to November last year.
The collaboration culminated in a joint raid on January 16, where Malaysian police raided two flats in Johor and arrested the five suspects.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the syndicate began its fake friend scam operations in June 2023.

The syndicate is believed to be involved in cases where more than 500 reports were made involving losses of more than S$1.4 million (US$1 million).
If convicted of conspiring to cheat, the men can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
They will return to court on January 31.
This story was first published by CNA


Singapore’s Lawrence Wong calls Donald Trump to congratulate US president-elect

Singapore says launderers who surrendered US$1.4 billion are free to go – but can’t return

Tech war: Hong Kong maker of Nvidia graphics cards PC Partner moves to Singapore

Hong Kong investors say they are bullish about Trump presidency, survey shows

Singapore

5 Malaysians linked to US$1 million ‘fake friend’ call scams extradited to Singapore

Five Malaysians were arrested for their suspected involvement in “fake friend” call scams. Photo: Shutterstock

The suspects were allegedly involved in “fake friend” call scams targeting Singaporeans. Photo: Singapore Police Force

In Malaysia, slot machine players risk losing it all to ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling

People at the SkyCasino in Genting Highlands. The resort dominates Malaysia’s domestic gambling scene. Photo: Shutterstock

The Gold Valley Club in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Toh Ee Ming 

Slot machines are dubbed the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling. Photo: Toh Ee Ming 

Visitors try out jackpot machines at a gaming expo in Singapore on May 31, 2023. Malaysians are regulars in Southeast Asia’s casino scene. Photo: AFP 

People at the SkyCasino at Genting Highlands, Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock 

Social media and web adverts for online gambling reach a vast pool of punters, appealing with the promise of “easy money”, an expert says. Photo: Shutterstock 

Andy Chua, a former gambling addict, said he once wore red underpants for an entire year to attract more luck. Photo: Handout 

Inside Southeast Asia’s Casinoland: the ‘underground bank’ at the centre of transnational crime

Traffic goes past a casino in Mongla, Special Region Four, in Myanmar’s eastern Shan State. In Asia’s thriving underground economy, there are billions of dollars needing to be cleaned, from the Mekong’s drug gangs, human trafficking networks to the world-dominating cyber scams. Photo: AFP

Traffic goes past the Kings Romans Chinese-owned casino in Ton Pheung, a special economic zone set in northwestern Laos along the Mekong river, at the border with Thailand and Myanmar. Photo: AFP

The Chinatown Kings Romans casino-hotel in Laos’ Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. China, whose nationals use the casinos in lawless areas of bordering nations, has cracked down on the big money junket operators. Photo: Nathan Paul Southern

A Tether cryptocurrency exchange in Phnom Penh. Tether, the firm behind the stablecoin USDT widely used in the industry, has denied their fiat could be used for laundering. Photo: Danielle Keeton-Olsen

A woman feeds pigeons in Phnom Penh. Cambodian officials have been reticent to respond to reports of unregistered, illicit businesses like online casinos and scam operations. Photo: AFP

Singapore PM Lee warns of ‘very convincing’ deepfakes ‘spreading disinformation’ after fake video of him emerges

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his visit at the South African Parliament in Cape Town on May 16, 2023. Photo: AFP

Singapore woman scams victims of US$646,000 including lover who cheated parents of life savings

People take photos against the financial skyline in Singapore. In total, Joceyln Kwek, 49, cheated 10 people of more than S$880,000 (US$646,000). Photo: AP

The city skyline is seen shrouded with haze in Singapore. Kwek pleaded guilty on Thursday to multiple charges of cheating. Photo: AFP

Passengers walk towards an immigration checkpoint at Singapore’s Changi airport Terminal 4. Kwek cheated her husband’s ex-colleague of S$338,600, lying to him that she could help him obtain permanent residency in Singapore. Photo: AFP

A woman stands next to a logo of messaging application WhatsApp during a Meta conference in India. One of Kwek’s victims was a salesman who approached her as a company representative on WhatsApp, hoping to attract potential customers. Photo: Reuters

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The suspects were arrested after Malaysian police raided two flats in Johor last week
They could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined if found guilty of conspiracy to cheat


The suspects were arrested after Malaysian police raided two flats in Johor last week.


Malaysia

Scams and swindles

Crime

5 Malaysians linked to US$1 million ‘fake friend’ call scams extradited to Singapore

The suspects were arrested after Malaysian police raided two flats in Johor last week They could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined if found guilty of conspiracy to cheat

The suspects were arrested after Malaysian police raided two flats in Johor last week

They could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined if found guilty of conspiracy to cheat