A man was charged in court yesterday with 13 counts of deceiving victims into believing that he could sell them the iPhone 7 Plus and inducing them to transfer a total of $9,640 into his bank accounts.

Cai Jiaxiang, 30, allegedly cheated nine men and three women into transferring $100 to $4,610 each into his DBS savings or UOB current accounts to buy one to four sets of the latest Apple mobile phone between Sept 11 and 16.

No plea was taken. Investigations are ongoing.

Cai, who was unrepresented, also faces a charge of giving false information to the police at Toa Payoh Neighbourhood Police Centre on Sunday.

He is said to have lied that a man he met at a KTV lounge had asked him to help look for clients to take pre-orders of the iPhone 7 at $1,480 each in return for a commission of $150 per phone.

He also stated that he had secured about 15 pre-orders and deposited funds into three bank accounts with DBS. He allegedly claimed that he failed to contact the man for his commission on Sept 18.

Cai was offered bail of $20,000. His case will be mentioned on Oct 11.

Elena Chong