SINGAPORE \u2013 A Malaysian man suspected to be involved in government official impersonation scams was charged in court on Nov 14.<\/p>\n
Lim Zi Wei, 35, was handed one charge of abetment by conspiracy to assist another to retain benefits of criminal conduct. <\/p>\n
This comes after the police said there has been a trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from scam victims. <\/p>\n
Charge sheets stated that Lim allegedly received $24,000 from two scam victims between Nov 10 and 12. <\/p>\n
He is said to have received $9,000 in cash from one victim, who was duped into thinking she was under investigation by the Ministry of Law and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). <\/p>\n
He also allegedly collected $15,000 in cash from a second victim, who thought he was handing the money over to MAS for safekeeping. <\/p>\n
Investigations showed Lim was tasked by members of a transnational scam syndicate to collect the cash from scam victims, said the police in a statement on Nov 13. <\/p>\n
He would then hand over the money to the syndicate. <\/p>\n
He was arrested when he tried to leave Singapore on Nov 12. <\/p>\n
On Nov 14, the police prosecutor asked for him to be remanded for further investigations. <\/p>\n
If convicted, Lim could face a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both. <\/p>\n
On Nov 9, the police said they arrested two Malaysian men for their <\/p>\n suspected roles in government official impersonation scams<\/p>\n <\/a>. <\/p>\n One of them, a 38-year-old man, collected $412,000 worth of gold from a scam victim. <\/p>\n