TAIPEI (The Straits Times/ANN): A Singaporean woman who was previously arrested in Taiwan has been sentenced by two counties there to a total of more than 31 years in prison for her involvement in nearly 30 incidents of fraud and money laundering.
The woman was identified in court papers in the Yunlin and Changhua counties, published respectively on Oct 17 and 21, as Kek Hui Ting. Her age was not given in the court papers, but the district prosecutor’s office had said in April that she was 27 then.
She was found guilty of 25 counts of fraud in Yunlin County, and of three counts of fraud in Changhua County.
She was sentenced to a jail term of 30 years and two months by the Yunlin court, as well as one year and six months’ jail and a NT$30,000 fine by the Changhua court.
Both county courts found that the syndicate had an intent to defraud and launder money.
Kek had entered Taiwan on Feb 21 on a tourist visa and, through a Telegram group she joined before she arrived, worked together with a local scam syndicate, with a promised pay of $300 a day.
She was given debit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs in both counties, as directed by a syndicate leader, according to the court papers.
From March 1-4, she was ferried to dozens of convenience store ATMs and made more than 50 withdrawals amounting to around NT$1.7 million (S$71,750) for the syndicate.
The syndicate would have already persuaded its victims to transfer money to various accounts through malicious ads on multiple social media platforms.
Taiwanese police arrested Kek on March 8 at the airport when she tried to leave Taiwan.
The Yunlin prosecutor’s office released camera footage at an ATM capturing her withdrawing cash there with her face slightly concealed by a mask and her sweatshirt’s grey hood.
Kek told the Changhua court she had not been paid by the syndicate, which had promised to reward her only after she departed Taiwan.
The courts ordered for her to be deported after serving her sentence. - The Straits Times/ANN
