Shaun Oh Yan Zhe pleaded guilty to two counts of cheating involving two of the victims. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: A 19-year-old youth pretended to be a female sex worker online and cheated three men of S$800 in total after they wanted to engage “her” services.
When caught, Shaun Oh Yan Zhe, who has since made full restitution to the trio, admitted to the police that he had used a similar ruse to cheat around six to seven other victims.
He then voluntarily surrendered $1,470 to the State over these other incidents, which were not part of his charges.
On Tuesday (Sept 16), Oh, who is now 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of cheating involving two of the victims. He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge linked to money laundering.
Three other charges, including one of cheating involving the third victim, will be considered during his sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Quek Lu Yi said that before committing the offences, Oh went on online classifieds website Locanto and posted an advertisement, pretending to be a 19-year-old female sex worker.
Two men responded to the advertisement and contacted him via messaging platform Telegram.
One of them transferred $550 to Oh on July 1, 2024, while the other transferred $100 to him the following month.
DPP Quek said that Oh blocked the pair on Telegram after receiving the money.
Court documents did not disclose details about the third man’s case.
In an unrelated case, Oh received a Telegram message from an unknown woman identified as “X” in court documents in July 2024.
She then offered him “fast cash” in exchange for his Singpass or bank accounts details.
The prosecutor said: “The accused knew that the selling of bank accounts and Singpass accounts was illegal.
“X informed the accused that she would be using the account to trade stocks and that what she was doing was legal. The accused did not take any reasonable steps to verify her claims.”
X then offered Oh $2,000 in exchange for opening a bank account.
He did as he was told and shared the internet banking details with her.
The account received $34,675, before the money was transferred out on July 23, 2024.
From this sum, $34,650 was later traced to a scam victim and the amount has not been recovered.
Oh later told investigators that X had failed to pay him.
On Sept 16, DPP Quek urged the court to call for a report to assess his suitability for reformative training.
Young offenders ordered to undergo reformative training are detained in a centre to undergo a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling.
The prosecutor said: “Whilst the accused is a young offender, there is a strong need for some measure of general and specific deterrence within an overarching emphasis on rehabilitation, which remains the dominant sentencing principle.”
Oh will be sentenced on Oct 7. - The Straits Times/ANN
