Jail for man who used forged MAS warrant card to deceive woman into handing him $30k

SINGAPORE - A man who used a forged Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) warrant card to deceive victims into handing him cash and an ATM card number has been sentenced to 10 months’ jail.

On May 21, Siah Kwang Yung, 52, pleaded guilty to three charges, including one count of dishonestly using a forged document as genuine for the purpose of cheating.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Chew said that in 2023, Siah was contacted by someone who claimed to be a staff member of DBS Bank and told him that he had a pending transaction on a credit card in China.

The call was later transferred to a person identified as “Wang Lao Shi” in court documents, who claimed to be an officer with the Chinese police.

Wang Lao Shi told Siah that he had been implicated in a crime to cheat the Chinese government of money and would be arrested if he did not do as he was told.

Siah complied and was told to purchase formal business wear to look like he worked at MAS.

Wang Lao Shi then told Siah to collect an MAS card from a man. The forged card bore the MAS logo and appeared to be issued by the “financial supervision section” of the authority.

The name printed on the pass was not Siah’s and he grew suspicious that he could be participating in a scam.

The prosecution said Siah also had reason to believe he was not performing a legitimate job for the Chinese government and the document he had been given was a forged MAS warrant card. 

Despite this, when Wang Lao Shi instructed him to meet a woman in Marsiling to collect $30,000 in cash from her, he did as he was told.

He dressed in formal business wear and showed the forged MAS warrant card to the woman. She then gave Siah an envelope containing $30,000 in cash and affixed her thumbprint on a document that he handed her.

DPP Chew said that after Siah left Marsiling, he contemplated reporting the matter to the Singapore police.

However, Wang Lao Shi told him not to worry as the Singapore police had been informed that he was working for MAS.

He was told to tear up the document with the woman’s thumbprint and deposit the $30,000 in a bank account, which he did.

Separately, Siah also met a woman identified in court documents as V1, and showed her the forged MAS warrant card.

When V1 saw the card, she believed that Siah was a representative of MAS and handed over an envelope containing an ATM card number, which was linked to her bank account.

Wang Lao Shi provided Siah with the PIN for the ATM card and instructed him to withdraw $8,900 from the bank account, which he did.

Siah was told to keep $1,900 for himself as his salary and deposit $4,000 into a bank account provided by Wang Lao Shi.

Siah’s offences came to light when V1 filed a police report over the withdrawals from her account.

Investigations revealed that V1, a 53-year-old laundry and dry-cleaning worker, was a victim of a China police impersonation scam, said the prosecution.

Seeking eight to 11 months’ jail for Siah, DPP Chew said offenders like him play a key role in letting overseas criminal syndicates have a presence in Singapore.

“The accused in this case not only received scam proceeds from victims through deceptive conduct but had also actively assisted with the concealment and dissipation of victims’ monies,” she said.

In mitigation, Siah said he would not reoffend, adding: “I still have debts to settle and I hope to be released from prison soon so I can settle my affairs.”

Those who commit forgery, intending that the document be used for the purpose of cheating, can be jailed for up to 10 years and are liable to a fine.