Two charged over alleged handling of crime benefits; one linked to nearly $200k in scam proceeds

SINGAPORE – Two people have been charged after they allegedly handled crime benefits, with one of them purportedly receiving nearly $200,000 in scam proceeds.

On Aug 5, Chng Teck Huat, 56, was charged with nine counts of possessing the ill-gotten gains in his bank accounts.

He is also accused of one count of failing to exercise reasonable diligence in carrying out his duties as a director of a company called JBJ & Rich Anahawk Oil Hedge Investment.

Yeo Chai Chun, 50, was charged with one count of rash money laundering after she allegedly transferred more than $8,000 from her bank account to another party’s account.

In a statement, police said that in August 2024, officers received a report that an unnamed overseas company had become a victim of an impersonation scam, in which instructions were made to transfer funds to bank accounts maintained by Chng and Yeo.

Investigations revealed that Chng had allegedly received nearly $200,000 in his personal bank accounts, including US$47,450 (S$60,800) from an unnamed overseas scam victim.

The remaining funds are believed to have originated from other scam victims.

Court documents stated that between June 19, 2023, and June 28, 2024, Chng allegedly possessed the funds in his bank accounts despite having reasonable grounds to believe that they were benefits of cheating.

JBJ & Rich Anahawk Oil Hedge Investment is said to have received $67,010 in crime benefits in its account with a private payment solutions platform between June 20 and July 10, 2023.

Chng allegedly failed to exercise reasonable diligence in doing his duties as a director at the company during that period.

A police spokesperson said that Yeo’s bank account also surfaced during the investigation, revealing that it had received more than $9,000 from a love-scam victim in August 2024.

“Investigations revealed that despite harbouring suspicions about the origins of the monies, (Yeo) did not make further enquiries and proceeded to transfer more than $8,000 of the said funds to an unacquainted person at the behest of another unidentified individual,” the spokesperson added.

According to court documents, Yeo allegedly transferred $8,298 from her bank account to another belonging to a person named Simkhada Indra Prasa on Aug 12, 2024.

The cases involving Chng and Yeo have been adjourned to Sept 2.

For each count of possessing funds despite knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that they were criminal proceeds, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.

For rashly transferring another person’s benefits of criminal conduct, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined up to $250,000, or both.