NANNING – The door was shut, the curtains were drawn and everyone was told to put their phones away.
Charles (not his real name), a Singaporean in his 30s, was taken to the high-rise apartment one morning in 2024 by a friend for a “briefing” on how he could get rich.
The four-bedroom unit was in Skyfame Byland, a sprawling 22-block waterfront condominium in Nanning, the capital of southern China’s Guangxi region. Some blocks rise as high as 64 storeys, making the estate a prominent feature of the city’s skyline.
“The first thing that struck me was how spacious it was, and how lucky the Singaporean who owned this unit must be. I was envious,” he told The Straits Times.
Had the curtains been drawn open, he might have been able to see panoramic views of a horseshoe bend in the Yong River, its silt-yellow waters snaking through the city. He described the apartment as comfortably furnished with a homely vibe, without the oversized chandeliers and gilded flourishes associated with ostentatious living.
More than 10 participants, mostly Singaporeans, piled into the living room, listening as promoters talked up Nanning’s prospects during the morning session. Their “hosts” – one for each participant – kept close watch from the adjoining dining area.
All the promoters seemed to be Singaporean, Charles recalled. They looked respectable and spoke fluent English. One silver-haired man introduced himself as a doctor.
After lunch, the group was taken to another unit in the condominium, where the afternoon session revealed how the scheme worked: Pay a subscription fee to join, recruit others and be promised a handsome return.
“I realised they were not investing in anything real. Whatever returns they promised were merely coming from later joiners,” Charles said, describing what is essentially pyramid selling, banned in China since 1998.
“I could tell by looking at the faces of other participants that some were confused, and others like me didn’t buy the story. But even so, bizarrely, nobody stood up and left.”
“I think it’s because there were more of them than us in the apartment. Our hosts hovered around us all the time. I felt slightly threatened,” he said.
Charles said being abroad heightened his sense of vulnerability. He felt caught in a legal no man’s land.
“We are not in Singapore. I don’t know where we can get help. I assume Singapore police can’t reach into China to save us, and Chinese police can’t catch the perpetrators once they go back to Singapore.”
A view of Skyfame Byland, the Nanning condominium where some Singaporeans were given briefings of suspected pyramid schemes, overlooking Yong River.
ST PHOTO: YEW LUN TIAN
Charles had been taken to the briefing by a long-lost friend – a primary school classmate he had not seen since they were 12. He and the others were allowed to leave after the full-day briefing ended in the evening.
After he left, Charles texted his classmate to say he was not interested. He never heard from him again.
Read Full Article At Source
