Gambling addict jailed for cheating adoptive father

Aware that the older man’s mobile phone did not require a password to unlock it, he used the device whenever it was unattended to access the websites of five banks to apply for credit cards and loans.

Tay then accessed loan accounts that were in his adoptive father’s name and transferred the funds to his own bank account.

He also used the credit cards he received to settle his own expenses.

In total, he cheated multiple banks of more than $380,000.

When these offences went undetected, Tay went on to transfer more than $1.27 million of his adoptive father’s money to his own bank account without the man’s consent.

This amount included $533,800 from the adoptive father’s account held in the Central Provident Fund (CPF).

Before accessing the CPF funds, Tay used an iPad to scan the older man’s face.

The victim did not check what the scan was for, and Tay then changed the daily withdrawal limit of his adoptive father’s CPF account without the man’s authorisation.

Between Jan 30 and Feb 9, 2024, the older man noticed that the balance in his bank account was lower than what he recalled.

He checked the transactions and saw that transfers were made to Tay’s bank account.

He called his bank’s hotline about the matter, and Tay overheard the conversation as the older man was using the loudspeaker mode on the phone.

Fearing that his offending acts would be discovered, Tay later pretended to be staff members of two different banks and phoned his adoptive father, claiming that the banks were facing issues.

The older man then confided in Tay, who offered to make a police report on his behalf.

Instead, the offender went on to forge a police report, which he showed his adoptive father.

On March 11, 2024, the older man discovered during a meeting with his insurance agent that there were withdrawals from his CPF funds.

The victim submitted an inquiry to the CPF Board about the matter, and one of its customer service executives alerted the authorities.

The next day, a police officer called the adoptive father. Again, Tay overheard the conversation because the loudspeaker feature was used.

Following this, Tay boarded to flight to Taiwan on March 13, 2024.

Tay was in South Korea when he encountered an elderly shopkeeper who reminded him of his late grandmother.

By then, he was running out of funds to sustain himself.

The DPP said: “He confessed his offending acts to the elderly shopkeeper, and she suggested that he turn himself in.”

Tay eventually booked a flight back to Singapore on June 17, 2024, and was arrested at Changi Airport.