SINGAPORE – A Singaporean man who invested $25,000 in a syndicate that sold anonymous accounts on messaging platforms to scammers had his jail sentence increased to four years, four months and two weeks on April 29.
Tan Shay Howe, 48, was originally sentenced by a district judge in August 2025 to a jail term of 3½ years and two weeks, and a fine of $11,000.
He had pleaded guilty to a charge of being a member of a locally linked organised criminal group under the Organised Crime Act (OCA) and two charges for engaging in a conspiracy to launder the syndicate’s criminal benefits.
A High Court panel of three judges increased Tan’s jail term by 10 months following an appeal by the prosecution on the two laundering charges.
The $11,000 fine, which was part of the sentence for the OCA charge, remained the same as there was no appeal in respect of this charge.
The court said in its judgment that the sentence it imposed properly reflects the need to deter the facilitation of scams, which has been a scourge on society.
“We agree with the prosecution that the syndicate played a crucial role in facilitating a large number of reported scams against Singaporeans which resulted in a staggering amount of losses.”
Between November 2023 and May 2024, the syndicate generated more than $887,000 in profits from selling WhatsApp and WeChat accounts to customers who were mostly based overseas, in countries including Malaysia, Myanmar and Cambodia.
These anonymous accounts were set up using pre-registered SIM cards.
SIM cards seized by the police were linked to more than 2,300 police reports on a variety of scams between January 2024 and May 2024, with a total reported loss of $51 million.
Tan, a car mechanic, is the first member of the syndicate to be sentenced. The cases against the others, who are all Singaporeans, are pending in court.
