SINGAPORE - Just three years after he was convicted of cheating, the fraudster struck again.

Last year, Chua Min Sern, 42, listed a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 mobile phone three times on Carousell for $100, even though he did not have any phones to sell.

Two victims transferred him a total of $178 before a police report was filed five days later.

On Monday (Feb 7), Chua was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating. 

Two other cheating charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing. 

One involves another ruse in which Chua tricked a woman into giving him $2,500 for renovation works at her house in 2018.

On April 11 last year, a victim came across Chua’s Carousell listing and asked if the phone was still available.

An agreement was made in which she transferred $100 to him for the phone and a further $8 for tracked delivery.

The victim then asked Chua for the tracking number, or a refund of $108. He claimed that he would check for the tracking number the following day, but he did not. 

The victim chased him for a refund from April 13 to April 15, but Chua did not reply to her. She made a police report on April 16.

Chua’s second victim responded to another listing of the same phone and agreed to pay a deposit of $70 so that he could see the phone in person. The second victim sought a refund till April 18 but was unsuccessful.

Chua has since paid both victims back.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Phoebe Tan told the court that Chua was previously convicted of cheating in January 2019. He was then sentenced to two years and three months in jail. 

The details of this previous cheating conviction were not mentioned in court.

She noted that his previous stint in jail was “not sufficient to deter him” and added that Chua’s latest offences involved the Internet which meant they had the potential to reach numerous victims.

For each charge of cheating, he could have been jailed for 10 years and fined.