Jail for man who helped friend stage robbery and pocket $270k

SINGAPORE — A man helped his friend misappropriate more than $270,000, and the friend later made a police report claiming that he had been robbed.

The prosecution said that Eddie Ong Wei Xian had helped his friend, Lek Tai Yong, 26, by keeping the money safe.

Ong, 26, was sentenced to three months' jail on Nov 23 after pleading guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust. Lek's case is pending.

At the time of the offence, Lek was the chief financial officer of Frontier Digital Asset Management, a company involved in the management of cryptocurrency services.

Lek met Ong about a week before Aug 31, 2023, when the police report was made.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yeo Zhen Xiong said: "Lek had told the accused of his intentions to scam one of the shareholders of Frontier. Lek asked if the accused was willing to stage a robbery... The accused refused as he considered it risky."

Lek told Ong that he would be collecting money from the sale of the cryptocurrency USDT on Aug 30 and he would hand over the cash to Ong.

The DPP told the court: "Lek informed the accused that Lek would thereafter head to Pasir Ris Park to pretend to have been robbed.

"The accused agreed with Lek's plan as he wanted to do Lek a favour so that Lek would embark on a business to sell adult toys with the accused. The accused would then return the monies to Lek the next day."

On Aug 30, Lek went to a multi-storey carpark in Pasir Ris and sold 200,000 units of USDT to a buyer who was not identified in court documents. Lek received $270,400 in return.

The sale was completed at around 1am on Aug 31.

According to court documents, Lek went to Ong's car, which was parked nearby, and placed a bag containing the money on the rear seat.

After that, Ong drove home and kept the bag in his bedroom.

Shortly after 3am on Aug 31, Lek filed a police report stating that two people had robbed him at Carpark D of Pasir Ris Park.

In October, police said in a statement that following an investigation, officers arrested Lek and Ong within nine hours after the report was made.

The authorities also managed to recover the money.

Ong, who is expected to begin serving his sentence on Nov 30, has been offered bail of $5,000.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.