Alleged leader of Cambodia-based scam syndicate targeting victims in S’pore still at large
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The suspects were apprehended after the police raided multiple locations across Singapore on Sept 9, including apartments and hotel rooms.
PHOTOS: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
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- Multiple people allegedly linked to a Cambodia-based scam syndicate targeting Singaporeans were charged under the Organised Crime Act in September
- The alleged leader remains at large, with his girlfriend and brother among those charged in Singapore.
- The syndicate is believed to be responsible for at least 330 reported cases involving more than $40 million in losses.
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SINGAPORE - The alleged leader of a Cambodia-based scam syndicate targeting victims in Singapore is still at large, and three Singaporeans said to be closely linked to him have been denied bail after being charged in September.
The man’s name and nationality are not disclosed.
At least 330 reported scam cases involving more than $40 million in losses have been linked to the syndicate, which operated out of a scam centre in Phnom Penh.
The three Singaporeans denied bail on Oct 2 are Christy Neo Wei En, 29, the alleged leader’s girlfriend, who is accused of recruiting scam callers for the syndicate; Ng Wei Kang, 33, the alleged leader’s brother; and Lester Ng Jing Hai, 29, who is said to be a high-ranking member of the syndicate’s operations.
District Judge Brenda Tan did not offer bail to the trio due to a risk of collusion.
Their cases will be mentioned again in court on Oct 23.
Neo, Ng Wei Kang and Lester Ng were among 15 alleged members of the syndicate who were each handed a charge under the Organised Crime Act in September.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it had worked with the Cambodian National Police (CNP) in a cross-border operation and disrupted the syndicate, which was behind government official impersonation scams in Singapore.
During the joint operation on Sept 9, officers from SPF’s Criminal Investigation Department and Police Intelligence Department conducted raids at multiple locations across Singapore at places such as apartments and hotel rooms.
Officers arrested 12 people, some of whom had allegedly acted as callers on behalf of the syndicate and had just returned from Cambodia.
The CNP’s Anti-Cyber Crime Department also carried out raids at a building and a warehouse in Phnom Penh.
It uncovered electronic devices and equipment that the syndicate could have used to perpetrate such scams.
An SPF spokesperson said that during the joint operation, the authorities seized items, including $2.5 million worth of funds from bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets, and copies of scripts used to commit the offences.
Since December 2024, SPF has received reports of government official impersonation scams in which victims were duped into losing large sums of money.
Scammers would first call the victims and pretend to be bank employees.
After that, the callers would direct the victims to another scammer, who would pose as a government official – either a police officer or a representative of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The scammer impersonating a government official would dupe the victims into believing that their bank accounts were implicated in an ongoing criminal investigation.
The scammer would then order the victims to surrender the funds in their bank accounts for “investigation purposes”, telling them to transfer their money into accounts which the syndicate controlled.
