SINGAPORE: A 48-year-old man who lied to his friend that he could get a Mercedes-Benz for S$140,000 inclusive of COE and other taxes was sentenced to eight months in jail on Tuesday (Nov 28).
Tai Boon Huat, a mechanic, received a total of S$22,487 that his friend transferred to his account on more than 22 occasions over the fraudulent transaction. He entered a guilty plea for one count of cheating, with an additional charge taken into consideration. He could have gone to jail for as long as 10 years and been made to pay a fine due to the cheating conviction.
The mechanic made friends with the 43-year-old man in 2019 and discovered that his friend was considering buying property as an investment. The two of them went on to look at properties together, according to a CNA report.
The following year, the mechanic informed his friend about his company’s bulk purchases, telling him that his company could buy Mercedes-Benz vehicles from Cycle & Carriage, a distributor of new and used cars across Southeast Asia. He also lied to the other man that he could purchase a Mercedes-Benz from other importers at big discounts.
While his friend was initially disinterested in buying the car, Tai eventually convinced him to do so. Tai told the man that he could get a CLA 200 Mercedes-Benz for just S$140,000, including taxes and a Certificate of Entitlement, the document allowing someone to own and drive in Singapore.
A CLA 200 Mercedes-Benz can cost between S$215,000 and S$268,000 for the car alone, depending on the variant of the vehicle. Singapore is known as the country where owning a car is the most expensive across the globe, with a COE equivalent to buying four cars elsewhere a few months ago. COE prices have moderated somewhat since then.
Read also: You can buy 4 Toyotas in the US for the price of a COE in SG
When his friend said yes to Tai’s offer, the mechanic told him he needed to deposit the payments to Tai’s bank account, explaining that these fees were necessary for administrative costs and other fees.
Between March 2020 and February 2021, the man transferred S$22,487 to the account on 22 separate occasions, although the car never materialized.
In March 2022, he filed a report against Tai with the police over having been cheated of his money. This led to Tai, who has not paid back any of the money his friend transferred to his account, getting arrested in May 2023. /TISG