Image from The Straits Times/ANN
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A Malaysian national who acted as a runner in Singapore for a transnational syndicate was sentenced to 10 months’ jail in Singapore, after he had initially evaded arrest.
On April 5, Wong Jia Hao, 24, pleaded guilty to helping to retain the benefits of a criminal conduct for someone else.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Thaddeus Tan said at the time of the offence, Wong was employed as a bartender at V Sing Bistro in Johor Bahru.
While working at the karaoke bar, Wong was recruited by his boss, who was not named in court, to collect and transport cash withdrawn from ATMs in Singapore.
Court documents did not say where Wong was transporting the money to.
The court heard that the arrangement started in August 2023 and Wong was paid between RM200 (S$57) and RM400 for each ATM run.
DPP Tan said Wong saw this as an opportunity to make fast money to repay some of his loans. In all, he had helped his boss to make around three to four ATM runs.
On Sept 28, 2023, Wong was instructed by his boss to enter Singapore with another man, Muhamad Azizi Azroy Abd Manan.
The pair entered Singapore in Azroy’s vehicle and drove to Parkway Parade where they met Javier Tan Kai Kiat, Un Jia Zhen, and Tiew Hao Ping.
Wong was instructed by his boss to go with Tiew to the ATM to withdraw $13,000. DPP Tan said the money was traced to a malware phishing victim.
While at the ATM, it was discovered that $8,000 was missing from the account.
Wong reported it to his boss, who then instructed him to withdraw $4,400 instead and go to Bendemeer Ville, an HDB estate near Boon Keng, along with the Tiew and pass the money to another person named Vo Thi Monh Tam.
Court documents did not reveal the connection between the individuals named in the case.
DPP Tan said the $4,400 was later converted into cryptocurrencies.
Shortly after, the police arrived at Bendemeer Ville after Tiew’s friend made a police report at about 5.40pm. The court heard that Tiew had told his friend that he was being forced into a Malaysian car.
Javier, Un, Tiew, Vo and Azroy were arrested at the block. Court documents did not reveal if Javier, Un, Tiew and Vo were charged.
The prosecution said Azroy, who faced identical charges as Wong, was sentenced to 10 months’ jail on Feb 8, 2024.
Wong, who had gone to smoke alone behind the block, managed to evade arrest. He reported the incident to his boss, who instructed him to return to Malaysia.
The prosecution did not say how Wong managed to return to Malaysia.
On Oct 31, 2023, Wong’s boss instructed him to enter Singapore again to make another ATM run, but he was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint.
DPP Tan, who sought a jail term of between 10 and 12 months, said there was a high level of sophistication in the offence given multiple syndicate members with specific roles.
He added that there were efforts made to mask the syndicate’s operations, which was evident in the exchange of the illegal proceeds from cash into cryptocurrencies, making the origin untraceable.
DPP Tan added that offenders in this case were not run-of-the-mill money mules, saying the syndicate operated overseas and recruited money mules to exploit Singapore’s financial systems.
On Feb 18, The Straits Times reported that malware scams were among the top 10 scams of concern in 2023, with 1,899 such cases reported and $34.1 million lost.
Between January and June 2023, more than 4,700 people were arrested or investigated for being money mules. - The Straits Times/ANN
