Jail for 2 foreigners over ruse to buy luxury goods with other individuals’ credit card details

SINGAPORE – Two Taiwanese men flew to Singapore with mobile phones they received from a syndicate, as part of a ruse to buy luxury goods using other individuals’ credit card details stored on the devices

One of them, Jung Tz-Jiang, 24, attempted but failed to buy a Rolex Submariner watch worth $18,800 from a shop at Golden Landmark Shopping Complex in Victoria Street on Nov 6, 2025.

On Feb 27, he was sentenced to eight months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to commit cheating. A second similar charge was considered during his sentencing.

The second man, Zhang Min-Xiu, 31, decided not to follow through with the ruse, and was arrested at the airport on Nov 7, 2025.

Zhang was sentenced to six months’ jail on Feb 27 after admitting to being part of a criminal conspiracy by agreeing to commit cheating.

Court documents did not disclose how the unnamed individuals’ credit card details ended up in the mobile phones.

Both men arrived on the same flight at Changi Airport, at around 7.30am on Nov 5, 2025.

They were then added to a chat group on messaging platform Telegram, which had been installed on the mobile phones they received.

There were at least five other people in the group, including the pair.

Zhang then called Jung via Telegram, and the pair met at the airport before going their separate ways.

Later that morning, Jung contacted the group and was told to go to certain locations to buy luxury watches.

He then took a taxi to Golden Landmark Shopping Complex, went to a watch store there and told its sales manager that he wanted to buy a Rolex Submariner.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Delicia Tan said: “As instructed by the people on the call, (Jung told the manager) that he wanted to purchase the watch and would pay using ‘his’ credit card on the phone.”

The manager then asked if Jung could pay by using a physical credit card since it was a large purchase.

Jung replied that he could pay only with the mobile phone and presented to the manager a credit card stored in the device.

The manager then took out a point-of-sale machine, and Jung tried to use the phone to pay for the timepiece.

When the transaction failed, Jung tried to use the details of another credit card stored on the phone, and left the store after failing again.

He later tried to purchase a luxury watch at another store.

DPP Tan told the court: “The manager of that shop found the accused to be suspicious. He therefore asked for the accused’s passport and made a photocopy of (it). The manager then lodged a police report against the accused.

“Investigations revealed that, shortly after leaving that shop, the accused told the people in the... group chat that he wanted to return to Taiwan, and they purchased an air ticket for (him).”

He was arrested later that day while waiting for his flight to Taiwan at Changi Airport.

Meanwhile, Zhang took a taxi to an undisclosed location on Nov 6, 2025, and decided not the follow the instructions which he had received from a contact in Taiwan.

He returned to the airport the next day and was arrested after he was traced by the police.