SINGAPORE – After entering Singapore on social visit passes, three Chinese nationals hatched plans to sell knock-offs of branded phones bought in China to victims here.

All three were sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to one count of cheating each on May 2.

Court documents did not say if the men knew one another or were working together.

Li Jianxin, 41, arrived in Singapore on Feb 27. At around 6pm on March 20, he approached his victim near Liang Seah Street and offered to sell him an iPhone 15 Pro Max and a charging cable for $800.

He also provided a forged receipt after he claimed that the phone was bought from an Apple store in Singapore for $1,600.

After bargaining, the victim agreed to buy the phone from Li for $700. He later realised it was fake when comparing his phone with his colleague.

Li was arrested on March 21 while trying to leave the country. Investigations revealed he had bought the knock-off phone for $200 in China, with the intention of selling it in Singapore.

Li was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail. The prosecution said he had expressed an interest in making restitution to the victim.

Pan Weiqi, 29, arrived in Singapore on March 8 with China-bought imitation phones he intended to cheat people with here, the prosecution said.

Around 2pm on March 17, Pan approached his victim outside Rochor MRT and offered to sell him an iPhone 14 Pro Max and a Samsung mobile phone for a combined price of $600.

He used a forged invoice to trick the victim into believing he had bought the iPhone from an Apple store in Bugis.

The victim withdrew money to pay Pan, but later realised the phones were fake when he went to a phone shop to buy chargers.

Pan was sentenced to nine weeks’ jail.

Su Guohua, 49, arrived in Singapore on March 14 and executed his plan the same day.

He approached his victim at a car park near Geylang Bahru at around 6.30pm with an offer to sell an iPhone 15 Pro Max for $350. He claimed he was in financial distress and needed money to buy food.

After the victim bargained with Su, they agreed on $300 for the phone. The victim then withdrew money from a nearby ATM and paid Su.

The victim was induced into buying the phone from Su due to the significant discount. A new iPhone 15 Pro Max costs more than $2,000 in Apple stores.

The victim lodged a police report when he found out the phone was fake when he took it to a phone shop to get it checked.

The prosecution said a box of similar imitation iPhones were found inside Su’s hotel room when he was arrested on March 21.

Su was sentenced to one month in jail.

The prosecution said both Su and Pan were “highly uncooperative” during investigations. Both men also have not made any restitution.

A person found guilty of cheating can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

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