SINGAPORE: Three men who allegedly robbed a 45-year-old woman at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) were hauled to a district court on Wednesday (June 3).
Du Kai, 34, Li Yue, 29, and Ren Jiliang, 30, were each handed one charge of robbery with hurt.
The prosecutor asked for the three Chinese nationals to be remanded for a week for investigations.
In a statement on June 2, the police said the woman got to know someone on a messaging platform who claimed to offer foreign currency exchange services.
She had wanted to convert S$50,000 in cash to foreign currency, which was to be deposited into her bank e-wallet.
Together with her daughter, she was taken to the Bayfront Avenue area, and then to an MBS hotel room.
When she took out the cash, a man restrained her by the neck and demanded she hand over the money.
The woman and the girl were locked out on the room’s balcony.
The police later found the three men had boarded a flight bound for Shanghai. The aircraft was recalled to the gate and they were arrested at Changi Airport.
The police said the money was recovered from the men.
An offender convicted of robbery with hurt can be jailed between five and 20 years, and receive at least 12 strokes of the cane.
The police advised the public to be careful when engaging in currency exchange arrangements with unknown people, particularly those conducted through social media or messaging platforms.
Licensed money changers should always be used for such transactions, said the police.
The three men’s cases will be heard again on June 10. - The Straits Times/ANN
