SINGAPORE - After pleading guilty to cheating offences in January 2013, a Malaysian man jumped bail and illegally left Singapore via speedboat about two months later.

Tay Chee Boon was finally caught in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 4 last year and sent back to Singapore three days later.

Tay, now 29, was jailed for 22 months on Thursday (May 10) after pleading guilty last month to his offences for the second time.

He admitted to three counts of cheating involving $16,750 and one charge of leaving Singapore from an unauthorised place of embarkation and departure.

The court heard that Tay and three others - Lee Hao Yi, Gan Ee Sing and Lee Hao Ren - were involved in a lucky-draw scam in Singapore and Johor Baru.

From January 2012, Tay worked for a JB-based organisation that had runners who told their victims that they stood a chance to win a car if they took part in a lucky draw.

However, this prize did not exist, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Tow Chew Chi.

As part of the scam, Tay was tasked to collect a stack of fictitious lucky-draw vouchers from the organisation, station himself in public in JB and hand them out to passers-by.

DPP Tow said: "The accused would ask the victim to open the voucher, convince the victim that the victim had won a lucky draw or might win a lucky draw, and ask the victim to follow the accused back to the organisation's premises, where other runners would continue to deceive the victim into believing that the prize might be a car."

The victim was then told to pay a sum of money supposedly to secure the vehicle.

"If the victim had to return to Singapore to obtain the money... the accused would accompany the victim back to Singapore," said the DPP.

He also said that the organisation had drivers who would transport the victim to Singapore. The victim would then be driven back to JB to hand the money over to the organisation.

On separate occasions in May 2012, Tay and his accomplices managed to dupe two victims into returning to Singapore to withdraw a total of $16,750, which the organisation later received.

For each victim that he managed to lure into taking part in the so-called lucky draw, Tay earned RM50.

Tay, Gan and Lee Hao Yi were caught in Singapore on June 18, 2012, after the son of a potential third victim alerted the police.

Tay was charged in court two days later before pleading guilty to his offences on Jan 15, 2013.

While out on bail some time between March 15 and April 12 that year, he had a discussion with Lee Hao Yi and Gan about absconding.

The trio later went to Changi Village, boarded a speedboat and fled to Malaysia. Gan, who was caught earlier, has been dealt with in court and was sentenced to 27 months' jail.

Lee Hao Yi and Lee Hao Ren are still at large.