ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – A man has been sentenced to jail in Singapore over his role in a scam that saw a retiree losing SGD1 million in life savings after the money was transferred to other bank accounts without her knowledge.
Court documents did not state if Dickson Jong Chee Siang was part of the group that scammed the 75-year-old retiree.
The Malaysian instead recruited a man whose bank account was used to receive about SGD250,000 of the victim’s money.
Jong, 29, was sentenced to nine months’ jail yesterday after he admitted to cheating two banks. He also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Computer Misuse Act.
The case involving his alleged accomplice and fellow Malaysian, Lin Chien Wei, 24, is pending.
The prosecution said on December 9, 2021, the senior citizen received phone calls from several people claiming to be from the “Chinese Judicial Investigation Department”.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Hsiao Tien said, “These persons claimed that the victim’s identity had been misused in China, and she was required to assist in investigations.”
They told the victim to provide her personal details such as her identity card number and home address. She complied with their instructions.
In December 2021, she received letters bearing the letterheads of the Singapore Police Force, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the State Courts.
Left outside her door, the letters stated she was suspected of illegally opening a…
