Money mule gets jail and caning under updated law targeting scam syndicates

Yap was instructed to look neat and presentable in long-sleeved black attire, long pants and well-combed hair.

When Yap asked Hades about the name of the brokerage or investment company, Hades said he did not know.

Yap had some suspicions, as he felt it was unusual for him to be required to collect and deliver cash and he was not given a proper explanation about the company’s operations.

At about 7pm on Feb 22 this year, a driver picked Yap up from his Kuala Lumpur home and transported him to Johor Bahru before handing him a bag.

Inside were name cards for three companies bearing Yap’s photos and a false name “Andy”, along with investment contract documents and S$1,000 (US$783) in cash.

Hades told him he would be instructed on how to use the items once he arrived in Singapore.

Yap took a bus into Singapore on Feb 23. He received instructions via Telegram to make photocopies of contracts and name cards, among other things.

He was instructed to meet someone at a home in Jalan Kemuning in Sembawang to collect 1 million yen (S$8,198).

HOW THE VICTIM WAS SCAMMED

The person he met turned out to be a 73-year-old Singaporean victim, who had been added to an investment chat group on WhatsApp on Feb 1.

The chat group provided guidance and predictions on brokerage investments with positive feedback on guided investments, believed to be staged.

The victim was instructed to download an online application which displayed brokerage and trade information.

Tempted by the promise of a 750 per cent return, the victim decided to invest 1 million yen in cash and was told that a staff member would meet him to collect the cash.

When Yap met the victim, he presented himself as a representative of a company known as Maplerock and gave the victim an investment contract and plan documents.

The victim reviewed the documents and handed over the 1 million yen.

Yap felt suspicious because the victim had written “S$8,000 plus” on the contract but handed over yen instead. He felt that the amount was inaccurate and did not tally and suspected that the victim was involved in money laundering.

Still, he obeyed Hades’ instructions to “cover the money” by wrapping it with paper and placing it in a plastic bag.

He then went to a block in Buangkok to hand over the collected cash to another person.

Hades had given Yap an identifier – a picture of a note scotch-taped to the back of the phone. The cash collector was to show Yap this photo for identification.

At the location in Buangkok, Yap met a man whom he believed to be Nigerian. The man showed Yap a phone with the matching note and Yap handed over the cash to him.

VICTIM’S DAUGHTER LURES YAP BACK

Meanwhile, the victim’s daughter arrived home and discovered the scam. She contacted the person who had added her father to the chat group, pretending that her father wanted to invest more money.

Her intent was to lure Yap back. At the same time, the victim’s daughter called the police.

That same night, Hades asked Yap to return to Jalan Kemuning. When Yap did so, he saw a police car and updated Hades, but Hades did not reply.

Yap waited outside the flat until the victim’s wife opened the door. Yap later entered the house and was arrested by the police.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Adelle Tai sought seven months’ jail and one stroke of the cane for Yap.

She noted that this was a cross-border criminal operation, with Yap recruited in Malaysia and directed by an overseas handler.

The victim was a vulnerable one due to his age and was deceived over a few weeks, said Ms Tai.

She added that the criminal enterprise was elaborate and well-organised, with Yap being one component in a multi-layered operation.

As Yap had committed the offence after Dec 30, 2025, when the caning provisions for scam-related offences kicked in, he was liable for caning.

Ms Tai sought one stroke of the cane, noting that he was a first-time offender whose conduct was limited to a single collection and delivery of cash.

He did not recruit other mules or play any organisational role within the scam syndicate, so one stroke was proportionate and sufficient, said Ms Tai.

For functioning as a money mule dealing with the criminal proceeds of a serious scam offence, Yap could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, and given up to 12 strokes of the cane.