A 'seasoned and skilled manipulator': Jail for woman who cheated 10 people of over $880k

SINGAPORE - A serial con woman who pretended she was a piano teacher from a wealthy family, a cancer sufferer and a lawyer, among others, ran a whole gamut of ruses over a period of six years, tricking 10 victims of more than $880,000.

Described by the prosecution as a "seasoned and skilled manipulator", Joceyln Kwek Sok Koon, 49, had masterminded love scams, investment scams and inheritance scams, and even used her own child's bank account as part of her criminal schemes.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Phoebe Tan told the court that Kwek was a serial cheat who "preyed on all and sundry". Her victims included her lover's parents and sister, her own godmother, her husband's former colleague, and even a worker at a bubble tea store she frequented.

Said the DPP: "Even when she was scheduled for trial for cheating charges, the accused hunted for other victims to scam. She was a seasoned and skilled manipulator who repeatedly and brazenly flouted the law."

On Tuesday (Oct 31), Kwek was jailed for a total of 85 months. She had previously pleaded guilty to six cheating charges and another charge of criminal breach of trust.

Other charges for cheating and forgery - 16 in all - were taken into consideration for sentencing.

In total, Kwek had been able to cheat 10 victims of more than $880,000 over a period of six years.

She had come up with a multitude of lies and schemes, making false claims like being a piano teacher who came from a wealthy family that ran a freight forwarding business, or suffering from brain cancer and leukaemia, or having access to lucrative investment opportunities.

In several of these instances, she had used her daughter's name and POSB Kids bank account to perpetuate the scams and receive monies.

To make her ruses more believable, Kwek had forged numerous documents, including cheques and a memo purportedly from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.

She also faked multiple personas, like a "Rachel Lam" who was supposedly an undergraduate, a "Jolene" who was a single mother with financial difficulties, a "Matthew" who was a lawyer, and a "Ginia" who was a pregnant divorcee who previously had an abusive husband.

The court heard about how Kwek, who was a mother of two in 2016, had started an extra-marital affair with a Lai Sze Yin, about a month after he had delivered a parcel to her place.

Back then, she was 42, while he was 23. Together, they cheated Lai's parents and sister of more than $100,000 from 2017 to 2019.

Lai was jailed for 15 months in 2021.

In November 2017, Kwek cheated her own godmother, tricking her into handing over 50 pieces of jewellery, including family heirlooms.

Kwek had lied to the elderly victim that she had a family jeweller who could help clean the items. Instead, she pawned them off for about $48,000.

Kwek was caught and hauled to court in March 2020, where she was handed charges relating to the scams she had perpetuated with Lai.

But she was released on bail, and ran an inheritance scam about two weeks after she was charged.

She managed to trick the victim, who was a British national who previously worked with her husband at a bank, into handing over almost $250,000, purportedly for legal fees to claim the inheritance.

She also lied to the victim that she could help in his application for Singapore permanent resident status.

In 2021, Kwek ran a love scam, tricking a 39-year-old man by pretending to be a wealthy woman who was 12 years younger than him.

She was able to cheat him at least 30 times from July 2021 to January 2022 despite never meeting him in person, getting him to transfer her a total of more than $89,000 on the premise of investments into cheap Samsung mobile phones, Dyson hair dryers and high-end watches.

The court was told Kwek had also used the name Peach, to cheat a worker at a bubble tea store she frequented into transferring her a total of $1,900 from August 2021 to March 2022.

In sentencing Kwek on Tuesday, District Judge Ow Yong Tuck Leong had noted she was the mastermind and beneficiary of the scams, which were not a one-off act.

He said she was a persistent offender, who spent over six years cheating multiple victims, and even used her own child's bank account in the scams.

For each cheating charge, Kwek could have been fined and jailed for up to 10 years.

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

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