Jail for Malaysians who entered Singapore repeatedly to withdraw S$1 million in total for syndicate

On average, Thong and Chang were on duty two to three times a week.

On entering Singapore, they received instructions from the other chat on how much to withdraw, which ATM cards to use and the one-time passwords for each card.

They would collect the cards from lockers at *Scape mall or be handed the cards by a delivery driver.

The men would decide where to make the withdrawals from and update the chat before taking further instructions.

They retained about S$500 to S$600 from the withdrawn cash each time they performed their duty.

Depending on the instructions received, Thong would either pass the rest of the cash to a third party, or Chang would take the money back to Malaysia.

In total, Chang earned about RM50,000 while Thong earned about RM10,000 from their duties.

The men were arrested at Takashimaya on Dec 5, 2024 with 36 ATM cards and S$34,720 on them.

Another 15 ATM cards were found in a locker.

The money withdrawn by the two men belonged to victims of government official impersonation scams and Alipay scams, with some victims being vulnerable and elderly.

The prosecution said a transnational syndicate was involved, with both men “well aware” that they were working for a syndicate.

For engaging in a conspiracy to enter into an arrangement that facilitates the control of criminal proceeds, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.