SINGAPORE – A Taiwanese man, suspected of involvement in scams where a police officer was impersonated, was charged in court on Saturday (July 8).
Huang Ying-Chun, 52, stands accused of dishonestly receiving stolen property.
According to court documents, he was said to have received $150,000 at about 6pm on Wednesday, in Lorong 40 Geylang.
Huang, who wore a black T-shirt when he appeared in court, had a solemn expression as the charge was read to him.
He is “believed to be involved in a series of scam cases”, said the prosecution on Saturday.
He will be remanded for a week, and his case is expected to be heard again on July 14.
Police said in an earlier statement that the Taiwanese man had been arrested on Thursday – a day after a 55-year-old woman reported losing about $225,000.
She had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be a police officer before that.
Told that she was being investigated for money laundering offences, her call was transferred to another unknown person who said he was a police officer from another country.
She was then given a link to a website supposedly from the Singapore Police Force, and instructed to key in her internet banking credentials.
It was later that she realised her bank account had been accessed illegally without her knowledge, with about $225,000 transferred to unknown accounts.
Huang is believed to be involved in at least 10 other similar cases, with a total of over $800,000 in losses, according to the police’s statement.
If convicted for the offence of dishonestly receiving stolen property, he could be jailed up to five years and fined.