SINGAPORE: A man who worked for a transnational criminal syndicate enabled the group to control 100 newly opened bank accounts across seven Singapore banks.
More than S$4.3 million flowed through these accounts, of which S$22,230 was traced to reported scam cases in Singapore.
Besmond Huan Yu Kang, 24, received RM18,300 (S$5,900) in total for his role in the syndicate.
On May 6, he was sentenced to seven years and four months’ jail and a fine of S$5,400.
The Malaysian will have to spend an additional month behind bars if he fails to pay the fine.
He had pleaded guilty to eight charges, including cheating and misusing a computer system.
Twenty-five other charges were considered during his sentencing.
Singapore and Malaysian police managed to bust the Johor-based syndicate, and 12 Malaysians, including Huan and Tan Kang Yung, were arrested on Aug 9, 2024.
In December 2025, Tan, then 35, was sentenced to five years and 10 months’ jail and a fine of $2,000.
Another case involving an alleged accomplice, Malaysian Yew Chee Sian, 38, is pending.
Yew’s wife, Angeline Chan Sze Sze, 38, who is an alleged accomplice, is still at large.
Huan was in Malaysia in November 2023 when he came across an online advertisement about a “high-paying” job in Singapore.
He responded to it and was introduced to a man known only as “Ah Wei”.
Huan accepted a job from Ah Wei to open and surrender Singapore bank accounts to the syndicate.
He was promised money for every account opened and surrendered per month.
Huan suspected that the syndicate engaged in “harvesting” Singapore bank accounts for scams.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chan Wayde said: “When he asked Ah Wei and (Angeline Chan)... they informed him that the bank accounts were not used for scams but instead for other purposes which they did not disclose.
“He chose not to probe further. He accepted the job as he wanted to earn money quickly.”
Ah Wei applied for a Singapore work permit for Huan so he could open bank accounts here. Huan had no intention of lawfully working in Singapore.
In December 2023, an approval was issued to Huan to proceed with the work permit application.
After a work permit card was issued, Ah Wei guided Huan in using it to open accounts with various banks in Singapore.
Huan opened five bank accounts in his own name.
After that, he handed to Ah Wei items linked to two of the accounts, including the ATM cards and passwords.
Ah Wei then passed them to the syndicate, which in turn handed them to unknown persons for illegal purposes such as scams.
More than $750,000 was transferred to one of the accounts from December 2023 to March 2024.
From February to August 2024, nearly $300,000 was transferred to the other account.
In March 2024, Ah Wei asked Huan if he wanted to work as a “handler” for the syndicate.
As part of the job, he had to accompany people from Malaysia to Singapore and guide them in opening bank accounts.
Court documents stated that Huan also had to collect the internet banking login IDs and passwords and send them to Chan via chat groups on the WeChat messaging platform.
He was offered RM2,500 per month, with a commission of RM175 for every person he handled.
Huan accepted the job offer despite suspecting that he would be part of a transnational crime syndicate.
When he asked Chan, she told him “the bank accounts were used for illegal online gambling”, said DPP Chan.
“He then suspected that the bank accounts were also being used for money laundering but chose not to probe further.”
DPP Chan told the court: “As a result of (Huan’s) participation in the syndicate over a period of six months, control of 100 newly opened bank accounts from seven Singapore banks fell into the hands of the syndicate.”
He also said that in April 2024, Huan engaged in a conspiracy with a group of people including Yew, Chan and Tan to cheat various Singapore banks.
The banks were duped into believing the money mules were the sole operators of the accounts linked to them.
Between May and August 2024, Huan accompanied 12 money mules from Malaysia to Singapore and guided them in opening 39 bank accounts.
More than $130,000 was later transferred into them.
Huan also committed other offences including those linked to the remaining amount.
On Aug 9, 2024, the Commercial Crime Investigation Department of the Royal Malaysia Police informed their Singapore counterparts that Huan and other individuals had been arrested in Johor for harvesting Singapore bank accounts.
Huan was brought to Singapore nine days later and has been in custody since then.
He was represented by lawyer Ashvin Hariharan, who pleaded for him to be given not more than four years and eight months’ jail.
The lawyer from Ashvin Law Corporation said: “Besmond provided the investigation officers with all the information that he had about the syndicate, and truthfully answered all the questions asked of him.”
Separately, Singapore police said in a statement on May 3 that they had observed an increasing trend of Malaysians travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting valuables from victims.
Since Dec 30, 2025, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates face mandatory caning of between six and 24 strokes.
Mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes. - The Straits Times/ANN
