Police haul up 22 people for 49 scams amounting to $297,000
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Tee Zhuo
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SINGAPORE - The police have rounded up 22 people for their suspected involvement in scams amounting to about $297,000 in transactions.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon (Aug 29), the police said that 16 men and six women aged between 14 and 61 are assisting with investigations into 49 scams and commercial crimes.
The police said that the suspects are being investigated for either cheating or money laundering.
If convicted under the first charge, offenders could be jailed for up to 10 years with a fine. The latter charge carries a jail term of up to 10 years or a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both.
This follows a three-day operation conducted by Jurong Police Division that started on Monday and ended on Wednesday.
The operation comes after police said last week that overall crime went up by 3.2 per cent in the first half of this year compared with a year ago, largely due to a sharp spike in the number of loan scams, e-commerce scams and "Chinese officials" impersonation scams.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Devrajan Bala, the division's commander, commended the officers for their hard work in identifying and rounding up the suspects in the latest operation.
"Members of the public are advised to be wary of online advertisements where deals might appear too good to be true," he said. "We take a serious view against any person who may be involved in scams, and those found perpetrating scams will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
In their statement, the police advised the public to take measures to avoid falling victim to online purchase scams.
These measures include not sharing personal information such as identification or bank account numbers and passwords with others. Consumers should buy goods only from authorised dealers as well.
"To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use your bank account or mobile phone lines as you will be held accountable if there are illegal transactions found in the accounts," it added.
The police said that members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline on 1800-722-6688 for more information on scams.
Anyone with information on scams may call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness
