Scammer gets jail, caning for extortion and cheating 94 victims of over $170k

SINGAPORE – A scammer who conned 94 victims of more than $170,000 in total in a cheating spree over a period of more than two years was sentenced to 3½ years’ jail and three strokes of the cane on Aug 20.

Mohammed Hissam, 24, had pleaded guilty to an extortion charge and three counts of cheating involving nearly $150,000.

Nine other charges, including multiple counts of cheating relating to the remaining amount, were considered during sentencing. He has made no restitution.

He committed some of his offences when he was out on bail.

In October 2020, Mohammed offered electronic products such as PlayStation 5 consoles for sale at below market price on online marketplace Carousell. Interested buyers were asked to make upfront payments to facilitate pre-orders.

Some buyers paid the full price of the goods. Mohammed also told those who paid less to make full payments so that they could receive their goods earlier.

After making their payments, the buyers would regularly check with him about the status of their orders.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Benjamin Low told the court: “Initially, the accused was able to meet some of these orders. However, starting from November 2020, the accused was no longer able to meet (the orders), as he had used his customers’ money for gambling.

“He would lie to his customers about the reasons for not meeting their orders, such as the orders being in transit, delayed or detained by the Singapore Customs.”

When customers asked for refunds, Mohammed made the excuse, among others, that his bank accounts were frozen. He continued to accept orders from new customers even though he had no intention of obtaining the electronic products, duping 71 customers out of more than $101,000 in total in January and February 2021.

Mohammed was arrested after multiple victims alerted the police, and released on bail on Feb 17 that year.

While out on bail in early 2022, he posed as “Erica Lee” on messaging platform Telegram to offer driving licences for sale, and was contacted by multiple people keen to buy them. Court documents did not disclose if the offer was for genuine licences or fake ones.

In May 2022, a man wanted to buy one such document and sent “Erica” photographs of items including his identity card. He also transferred $400 to a bank account that “she” had designated.

The man later decided to cancel the purchase and obtain a refund.

The DPP said: “However, ‘Erica Lee’ and her boss, ‘Wee Kiat’, told (the man) that the refund could not be processed immediately... ‘Wee Kiat’ was another moniker used by the accused on Telegram.”

“Wee Kiat” told the man that various fees had to be paid to cancel the purchase and have the deposit refunded.

The man was also told to transfer such “fees” into bank accounts, which belonged to Mohammed and the scammer’s brother.

Over 58 occasions between May and November 2022, the man was duped into handing over more than $38,000 to Mohammed.

“Wee Kiat” threatened him when he stopped making payments, claiming that somebody would visit his home to look for him.

Between December 2022 and March 2023, Mohammad sent multiple letters to the man, pestering him for more money.

If the demands were not met, Mohammad threatened to reveal to the public that the man had tried to illegally obtain a driving licence.

The man did not hand over any more cash after receiving the letters and alerted the police.

Mohammad used this driving licence scheme to cheat seven other people of more than $9,000 in total between September 2022 and March 2023.

He was re-arrested on March 6, 2023, and has been in remand since.

On Aug 20, his lawyer Yamuna Balakrishnan said that Mohammad is willing to turn over a new leaf.

The lawyer also said that Mohammad regrets causing severe hardship to his loved ones and promises to use his time in prison to grow into someone who is more dependable.

For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined. An offender convicted of extortion can be jailed for up to five years and caned.