SINGAPORE - Scams are here to stay, with scammers devising new tactics and technologies to prey on victims. Deputy Public Prosecutor Gordon Oh Chun Wei reveals how the Attorney-General’s Chambers has prosecuted some scam cases and brought the culprits to justice.

Case 1: Renovation scam victims cheated of $1.8 million

All they wanted was a home.

Instead, dozens of home owners were left with their properties in a shambles, with some suffering broken marriages and several declared bankrupt.

This is because the contractors they had hired had no intention of completing the renovation works. The scammers – a married couple – ended up cheating 89 victims and subcontractors of almost $1.8 million in 2016.

The woman, who masterminded the scam, was initially convicted and jailed for cheating in an unrelated incident in June 2015.

Released from prison in September that year, she worked as a sales personnel for renovation companies and noticed that home owners were willing to spend large sums on renovation.

She persuaded her friend to set up a company for her, which she and her husband then ran.

They lured victims with low quotations, free air-conditioners, and even granite kitchen counters thrown in.

Many victims made full payments to secure the freebies, with one transferring more than $100,000 to them.

To keep up the guise that they intended to fulfil the contracts, the couple got workers to hack away tiles and walls. They also engaged subcontractors to do tiling, carpentry and air-conditioning work, but did not pay them.

The woman was arrested in 2017 following a police report by a subcontractor.

While out on bail, she got a former employee of the first company to set up another entity under his name, but let her run the firm.

She used this second company to scam another victim of about $42,000, and issued a $3,000 cheque to a subcontractor that bounced.

All the victims’ properties were left in unliveable states when the subcontractors stopped working after not getting paid. Many victims had to take out loans to redo the botched-up renovation or complete the renovation works that were half-done.

Mr Gordon Oh Chun Wei, a deputy public prosecutor (DPP) from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), said prosecutors and the police sifted through many transactions in this elaborate scheme.

He said the police had to chronologically sequence all of the firm’s contracts before comparing them with the contracts the companies had with the subcontractors and suppliers.

DPP Oh said: “It became clear the couple had no intention of completing the renovation works. When we studied the cash flow of the firm, comparing the incoming deposits paid by the customers against the outgoing payments and withdrawals made by the couple, the intention to cheat became clearer.”

He said that from 2019 to 2021, the police investigated about 100 cases involving errant contractors, and so far, more than 70 cases have been prosecuted.

But he said the case involving this couple left a deep impression on prosecutors.

He said: “Several of the victims’ statements spoke of broken marriages and strained ties with family members, filing for bankruptcy, and losing their life savings when they had hoped for a dream home.”

The woman was jailed for more than seven years, and the man was jailed for 5½ years in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The victims were not compensated.

DPP Oh said: “Victims also spoke of the humiliation and embarrassment they faced as a result of their financial difficulties, and not having a home fit to live in.

“Several had to live off the kindness of their extended families, and had to have their entire families live and sleep together in a single bedroom for an extended period of time.”

Case 2: Over $800,000 lost in decade-long talisman scam

Over 10 years, a married couple cheated nine victims of more than $800,000, selling them talismans they claimed were imbued with special powers.

It was only when one victim consulted a handwriting expert that the ruse came to light.

From 2005, the couple had recommended to victims talismans that they claimed would bring them good luck and fortune. At that time, the wife had been losing money at casinos.

The woman, who was a fortune teller, told victims that every stroke and word on the talismans had been written and chanted over by a Thai grandmaster or Tibetan spiritual master.

Instead, the talismans were put together by the couple in their Housing Board flat.

The talismans cost between several hundred dollars and nearly $39,000, with some victims cheated multiple times.

It was only when the husband asked one of the victims for help to check on properties in China that their scheme was uncovered.

The man gave a handwritten list of the properties to the victim, who noticed that the handwriting was the same as that on the talismans.

She consulted a handwriting expert before confronting the couple.

DPP Oh said prosecutors had to separate the religious aspect of the case from the criminal conduct, and show that the couple had exploited the victims’ beliefs to cheat them.

Prosecutors then focused on the handwriting and the false claims that the talismans had been made by spiritual masters.

Three victims who testified at the couple’s trial had each paid at least $100,000 for the talismans.

Victims said that when they ran out of money to pay for the talismans, they were told to borrow money or pawn their belongings, causing them more financial strain and distress.

During the 23-day trial, the husband admitted he had written on the talismans.

The woman was jailed for five years and nine months, while the man was jailed for four years and seven months.

Case 3: Contractors posing as HDB and town council officials

A group of renovation contractors, claiming to be authorised by the Housing Board and town councils to conduct repair works, visited HDB flats to prey on the elderly.

Victims were conned into paying deposits of between $50 and $300.

DPP Oh said these seemingly small sums were substantial for the victims, who were retirees with no source of income.

The mastermind of the scheme, who was from a general contractor company, had hatched the plan in 2014, promising workers at the firm a 40 per cent commission for each victim.

DPP Oh said the scammers intentionally visited older housing estates in the daytime when most working adults were out, allowing them to prey on elderly residents who were usually more trusting.

DPP Oh said: “If such crimes are not nipped in the bud, this may generate unease, or worse, a sense of insecurity among our older residents in the very estates that they live in. Over time, the public’s confidence in dealing with persons who act legitimately for public authorities may also suffer.”

The mastermind was jailed for four months, while two of his employees were jailed for a month each.

Catching scammers

About $89.7 million was lost to scams in 2016, with the number ballooning to $660.7 million in 2022.

DPP Oh said that in the past, scams like the ones reported above used to require face-to-face interaction.

But with technology, most scams can now take place digitally.

He said: “With the exponential increase in online transactions in many areas of work and life, the same belief and trust in public authorities or persons who represent them are now exploited.

“We see these commonly in government official impersonation scams and phishing scams.”

And even though many scammers operate from overseas, the Singapore authorities will still pursue justice, he added.

DPP Oh said: “It is not true that scammers can ‘get away’ simply because they are based overseas and they use money mules based in Singapore to do their dirty work. The police and AGC work closely with our foreign counterparts to exchange information, and arrest and extradite such offenders to Singapore to face justice.”

In 2019, two Nigerian scammers were extradited to Singapore. One was jailed for four years and two months, while the other was jailed for five years.

DPP Oh said increased awareness has helped to fight the scam scourge.

He said: “Due to efforts in recent years to publicise scams, there is now less stigma attached to being a victim and also greater awareness of the need for victims to come forward and report their cases. This has helped significantly with detection.”