Woman admits cheating 18 victims including friends of nearly $277k in total

SINGAPORE – Over four months, a woman cheated 18 victims, including her friends and colleagues, of nearly $277,000 in total, in a ruse involving devices such as iPhones.

Tiang Kim Hua, 40, continued to reoffend even while she was under investigation from Oct 9, 2022.

On Sept 15, the Singaporean, who committed all of her offences between September and December 2022, pleaded guilty to five cheating charges involving five people and more than $230,000.

Fourteen other charges relating to the other victims and the remaining amount will be considered during her sentencing.

Tiang, who worked at a logistics firm, has since made partial restitution of more than $38,000 to 13 victims.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Wayde Chan told the court that Tiang had targeted her friends, their friends and her colleagues, as well as buyers on online marketplace Carousell.

She did so by either duping them into paying for electronic products she did not have, or by telling them that she had deals to make “fast cash” – claiming to offer iPhones at below market value before reselling them to others for profit.

The DPP added: “In actuality, the accused had no way of delivering the items she represented that she could obtain and/or resell, and instead used the monies from the victims to cover her gambling debts.

“She also used some of the monies to fulfil some initial orders from customers on Carousell, to gain their trust that she was a legitimate seller.”

Tiang had cheated a 40-year-old man of the largest amount – nearly $159,000.

In July 2022, he bought a pair of headphones from Tiang for $308 through Carousell, and there were no issues with this transaction.

The following month, she contacted him to ask if he or any of his friends were interested in buying electronic gadgets, including iPhones, claiming that she could give him discounts.

He later paid her nearly $159,000 in total for items, including 114 iPhones and an Apple Watch. None of the items were delivered, but Tiang has since returned nearly $25,000 to him.

She went on to cheat more people, and seven of them alerted the police in early October 2022.

The authorities managed to track Tiang down and she went to a police station for an investigation on Oct 9 that year. Tiang left the station and was still under investigation when she reoffended multiple times.

One of the victims was a 34-year-old male colleague, who was cheated of more than $24,000.

In early November 2022, Tiang approached him and offered to sell him a new iPhone, but he rejected the offer.

She later told him about an “investment deal”, claiming she could buy iPhones and help him to sell them off. She also claimed that he could get back 15 per cent to 20 per cent in profit after that.

The man accepted the offer and later handed her more than $24,000 in total. In the end, he did not receive any profits, as she had not bought or resold any phones.

DPP Chan said: “The accused told (him) that there were shipping delays, issues with her bank account and issues with her family to justify the delay in paying the profits to him. All of these reasons were false.”

Tiang has since returned $3,500 to this victim.

Police arrested her in February 2023 and she is expected to be sentenced on Oct 1.