SINGAPORE: A Malaysian electrician was recruited by a syndicate and travelled to Singapore to set up devices in a rented house that would blast thousands of automated scam calls, with call origins masked to appear like they were being made locally.
The devices transmitted over 50,000 call sessions over a 50-minute period, linked to around 18,000 phone numbers, 40 of which later featured in 42 police reports.
The call sessions contained automated voice messages perpetuating scams from purported government agencies or financial institutions.
In under three weeks, victims of these scam calls suffered losses of more than S$1.6 million (US$1.2 million).
Chong Wei Hao, 42, was sentenced to jail for five years and three months and fined S$895 on Thursday (Apr 2).
He pleaded guilty to one count of being party to a criminal conspiracy to deceive Singapore residents into believing the false information presented to them through the use of the telecommunication devices he had installed and maintained.
THE CASE
Chong was a freelance electrician with about 15 years of experience in the trade in November 2024 when he was looking for jobs on Telegram for extra income.
He came across a post advertising a job vacancy for an electrician, with a monthly salary of 3,000 ringgit (S$956).
Chong then chatted with a Telegram user named “NASA”, who told him that he would be given an advance payment of about USDT 700, a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar.
In exchange, he would have to rent an apartment in Singapore among other tasks.
Chong agreed to the job.
He carried out various tasks following instructions by “NASA”. He went to Singapore for day trips in March 2025 to look for a rental apartment.
He rented a unit in Chai Chee, asking the landlord to equip it with high-speed broadband. He also asked for the room locks to be changed and said the bedroom should not face any neighbouring unit.
Chong emphasised the need for high-speed broadband with at least 1 gigabit per second.
He lied that he was the manager of a dim sum shop and that the unit was to house female employees.
He gave the identification of a Malaysian woman provided by “NASA” to convince the landlord about the tenancy.
Chong signed a tenancy agreement to rent the unit for six months for S$18,000. He also spent 3,000 ringgit to buy daily amenities and a new lock for the main gate, using cash he received in person in Malaysia.
THE INSTALLATION
In late March 2025, “NASA” instructed Chong to bring telecommunication devices into Singapore and install them there.
These devices, known as Voice over Internet Protocol Global System for Mobile communications Gateway devices, or VoIP GSM Gateway devices, provide live broadcasts of the telephone signal from the IP network to the cellular network.
Chong received USDT 700 as advance payment around that time and made four trips into Singapore from Malaysia to install the units.
