PS4 purchase leads to S$260,000 scam as ‘friend’ borrows money from university student under false pretences

SINGAPORE: Another scamming scheme came into light when a female college student bought a game console online from a friend, but did not receive anything from him. More so, the suspect also managed to embezzle more than S$260,000 from her on different occasions, and used the money to pay off gambling debts and for his personal expenses.

The suspect, a 31-year-old, now faces three charges of deception, and he pleaded guilty to one of them. Furthermore, after taking into consideration the remaining charges, the judge sentenced him to 23 months’ imprisonment. 

Case details

According to investigations reported by Lianhe Zaobao, the victim was a 25-year-old female university student who saw that the suspect was selling a PlayStation 4 game console on a shopping platform online in July 2021. Over several days, the victim transferred a total of more than S$300 to the suspect, but she did not receive what she had ordered. 

The suspect also had the nerve to continue his fraudulent activities and borrow money from the victim, expressing distress and declaring that he was in need of money for several reasons—bail, dental bills, payments to suppliers, his dog’s medical expenses, and the like. With this, the suspect initially assured the victim that he would repay the money that he borrowed, 

The victim had no money and had to work part-time while attending university to earn living expenses. Despite this, she considered the suspect a friend and gave away money that came from the insurance compensation and provident fund savings left to the victim by her deceased mother. The suspect knew about this, but he did not stop with his wrongdoing. 

For this case, it was reported that the suspect returned S$5,000 to the victim between November 2021 and February 2022. 

In similar news related to scams, there was a report where an Indian man advertised himself to be someone who is a master in astrology and palmistry, tricking a couple and scamming S$20,000 from them. 

The suspect tricked a couple into believing they were cursed and would be infertile, and he demanded the money from them, promising a blessing ceremony in return. 

With this, the suspect pleaded guilty to two of four charges and is now sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment. 

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