27-year-old in Singapore on student's pass arrested for alleged China govt official impersonation scam amounting to $40k

A 27-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a government official impersonation scam which extorted over $40,000.

In a media release on Saturday (May 10), the police said that they were alerted to the scam by the victim, a 20-year-old man, at about 11.50am on April 9.

The alleged scammers posing as China government officials claimed the victim's identity had been misused in China and he was implicated in a transnational money-laundering syndicate as a result, said the police.

Officers from the Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) and Clementi Police Division identified the 27-year-old suspect — who allegedly assisted the scammers to collect money from the victim — and arrested him on the same day.

Preliminary investigations showed he was a victim of the same type of scam, and had been manipulated into collecting money from other victims under the guise of assisting with official investigations, according to the police.

The 27-year-old suspect is being investigated for offences involving cheating and cheating by personation.

If convicted of cheating, he can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined. If convicted of cheating by personation, he faces a jail term of up to five years, a fine, or both.

The police said that they take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

They also encouraged members of the public to avoid letting others use their bank accounts or mobile lines as they could held accountable if these are linked to crimes.

Government officials will never request members of the public to make bank transfers, provide personal banking details, click on links that lead to bank websites or install third party software on personal devices over the phone or through text messages, said the police, adding that foreign officials also do not have legal powers to do so.

Those who wish to learn more about scams can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799, the police added.

Anyone with information on such scams may call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit  a report online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com

For more original AsiaOne articles, visit here.