SINGAPORE – Four men were charged in a cheating case that saw two of them allegedly trying to obtain more than $6 million in mortgage loans by using a landed property belonging to a stranger as collateral.
The Straits Times reported on the elaborate ruse in May.
It involved forged documents, stolen identity and a caveat that was somehow lodged against a property linked to the Singapore Land Authority without the owner’s knowledge.
Freelance violinist Elgar Kwek, 49, and his mother, the owners of the property in Katong, had no plans to sell the home.
His partner suspected something was amiss when strangers turned up at the home in April for what looked like a pre-sale inspection.
The property owners have no links to the four charged on Nov 10.
Ernest Fan Zhenhao, 39, is facing six charges in total, comprising two counts of cheating, three counts of using a forged electronic record as genuine and one count of possessing a forged identity card.
Lazarus Ching Fei Fan, 27, is facing two cheating charges, while Terence Tan Jun Ming, 29, was handed one cheating charge.
Andrew Li Xianneng, 36, has been charged with abetting the unlawful issue of an identity card.
Caveat lodged
Kwek alerted the police in April after receiving a letter from the Singapore Land Authority and finding that a caveat had been lodged against his property.
A caveat is a legal document obtained by someone who wants to exercise an option to buy a property.
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