Three men are set to appear in court today to face cheating charges after they were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the use of stolen credit cards in luxury stores.

Police revealed yesterday that they launched an investigation after being alerted that a man with a strong Chinese accent had presented a credit card bearing a Japanese name at a luxury retail watch shop.

The transaction failed to go through due to a system error and the man left the shop with two other Chinese men.

Police found that the credit card belonged to a Japanese tourist.

After further investigations, the three men were arrested at Changi Airport on Monday between 11.45am and 1.50pm during a four- hour coordinated operation.

A range of foreign currencies and items such as wallets, belts and bags amounting to an estimated $29,000 were found in their possession.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the three men apparently targeted tourists by stealing their wallets and subsequently using the stolen credit cards to make purchases at various luxury shops.

The men, whose details have not been released by police, are scheduled to be charged in court today with the offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years' imprisonment and a fine.

Jeremy Koh