SINGAPORE: Two people from Taiwan who came to Singapore and purchased items with stolen credit cards on the instructions of a syndicate member were jailed on Friday (Oct 31).
Yang Chen Yu, 25, was given 25 months’ jail, while Tiffany Liu Ting-Yu, 30, was sentenced to 31 months in prison.
The court heard that Yang racked up debts in Taiwan from borrowing money from loan sharks to gamble.
He and his poker mate Lin Lee-En were approached by an unlicensed moneylender, referred to only as “Fang” in court papers, who said the pair could go to Singapore and purchase items using payment cards that would be provided.
Yang and Lin agreed and were introduced to a person called “Mai Xiang”. Mai was a syndicate member.
He instructed Yang and Lin to purchase and sell items in Singapore using stolen credit card details that would be provided to them.
Yang knew that he would be using these cards without authority from the cardholders, but thought it was the best option for him to repay his debt.
His other options were to go to Thailand or Myanmar to be involved in scam operations or to remain in Taiwan as a staff member of Fang’s gambling den.
He thought there was a low likelihood of detection as he would only be in Singapore for a day, and there would be the “least harm” done to others, as the credit card owners could dispute the transactions.
Yang and Lin flew to Singapore on a ticket purchased by Mai Xiang, arriving on Feb 19, 2025.
The pair collected phones from a baggage locker in Changi Airport that were loaded with an app called “Tap Pay”.
Mai Xiang instructed Yang to test the app by making purchases in various stores around Singapore.
