SINGAPORE - A jobless man knocked on the doors of HDB residents claiming to be a neighbour whose family members needed urgent medical treatment.

Andrew Yapp, 64, took $260 in loans from them which he promised to return later in the day, but spent the money on cigarettes and betting.

The serial cheat was sentenced to 22 weeks in jail on Friday after pleading guilty to two charges of cheating. Two other similar offences were taken into consideration.

The court heard that Yapp's four victims - all women - were residents in estates in the Sembawang and Woodlands area, near where he lived. He committed the crimes between February and May this year.

Lim had previously been jailed for eight weeks for six similar convictions. For each charge of cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property, Yap could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined.