Man allegedly linked to car cloning syndicate handed 2 more theft charges
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Mohd Mazuan Abdullah, 39, being escorted by police officers along Sungei Kadut Street 4, where cars were allegedly stolen as part of a car cloning syndicate based in Malaysia, on March 23.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
SINGAPORE – A man allegedly linked to a Malaysian car cloning syndicate was handed two more theft charges on March 24, each involving a vehicle.
Mohd Mazuan Abdullah, 39, who is a Malaysian, is now accused of three counts of theft linked to three deregistered cars worth $8,900 in total.
The syndicate is said to be involved in selling stolen cars with cloned details of legally registered vehicles.
According to Malaysian media reports, syndicate members altered the chassis and engine numbers of the stolen cars to match those of legitimate vehicles.
The members also forged documents, including registration cards, before selling the vehicles in the used-car market, said the media reports.
Court documents stated that Mazuan allegedly worked with Malaysian Abdullah Abbas Mohd Arba Ai, 30, and Singaporean Terry Toh Kwang Huat, 53, to steal the cars at different locations in the Sungei Kadut area, near Kranji Road.
They are accused of committing the offences in October and November 2025.
According to the documents, the three deregistered cars were a BMW worth $1,000, a Toyota Camry worth $4,500, and a Toyota Altis worth $3,400.
Mazuan’s case will be mentioned again on March 31, while the cases involving Abbas and Toh are pending.
The Royal Malaysia Police had busted the syndicate, arresting 10 men and two women between March 12 and 15.
The officers also seized 12 vehicles worth about RM1.1 million (S$357,000), including four said to have been stolen in Singapore.
Mazuan was wanted in Singapore over vehicle theft cases, and Malaysian police handed him to their Singapore counterparts on March 16.
The investigation here came amid reports about a surge in the number of hit-and-run accidents and crime cases involving deregistered vehicles in 2025.
Official figures showed that there were 245 cases reported in 2025, compared with 75 cases the previous year. There were 39 cases in 2023 and 40 in 2022.
