The teen admitted to two charges of cheating on Feb 18, 2025. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: A teenage boy was only 15 years old when he scammed people on Carousell into paying him for iPhones that were never delivered.
The teen, who is now 19 but cannot be named as he was under 18 at the time of the offences, admitted to two charges of cheating on Tuesday (Feb 18).
He also pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt with common intention and one charge of having sex with a minor.
Twelve other offences will be taken into consideration for his sentencing on March 18.
The court heard the accounts of two victims whom the teen scammed.
On Dec 22, 2021, the first victim saw the boy’s Carousell listing for an iPhone 13 Pro Max and offered to buy it for S$1,440.
The teen requested a downpayment to reserve the phone, so the victim transferred $160 to him.
The next day, the victim waited for the boy around Ang Mo Kio MRT station to collect the phone, but he did not turn up.
When the victim called the teen, he claimed he was already in the area but could not find the victim.
The victim waited for more than an hour and left after the scammer stopped replying to his calls and messages.
On Dec 23, 2021, a second victim saw the teen’s Carousell listing for an iPhone 13 Pro Max. Court documents did not specify if it was the same listing the first victim saw.
The second victim offered to buy the phone for $1,680. The teen requested for a downpayment of $200.
The victim transferred the sum and they arranged to meet in the City Hall area on the same day for the transaction.
But before they could meet, the victim realised the teen had blocked his number and changed his Carousell username.
The second victim then lodged a police report and notified Carousell about the scam.
The first victim made a police report only after he was contacted by the police nearly a year later on Nov 8, 2022, following investigation into the boy’s cheating offences.
The teen did not repay the sums he scammed.
He also admitted to having sex with his schoolmate in May 2020, when he was 14 and the girl was 13. They started a relationship in September 2019.
After the girl became pregnant, the school and their respective parents were informed.
She made a police report in September 2020 about the matter and had an abortion the next month.
The boy was also involved in an assault case in October 2021, when he and two other teens punched and kicked an 18-year-old youth at a multi-storey carpark in Anchorvale Drive.
The prosecution called for a report to assess the teen’s suitability for reformative training, a regimen where young offenders are detained in a centre and put through rehabilitation programmes.
The teen, who did not have a lawyer, asked Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh to give him a chance to change.
He said: “Because currently I’m serving in the army, and I found a purpose in life.”
Judge Soh replied: “I’m happy to hear you’ve found purpose in life, and I hope you won’t reoffend. But you have to face the consequences of your actions.” - The Straits Times/ANN
