SINGAPORE \u2013 A Malaysian freelance electrician entered Singapore four times to install nine telecommunication devices that were used in a syndicated operation to broadcast scam calls linked to more than $1.6 million in losses. <\/p>\n
Tapping his 15-year experience as an electrician, Chong Wei Hao installed the devices in an apartment he had rented, and they were later used in the ruse. <\/p>\n
On April 2, Chong, 42, who knew the devices would be used for illegal purposes, was sentenced to five years and three months\u2019 jail, and a fine of $895. <\/p>\n
He had pleaded guilty to one count of being part of a criminal conspiracy to commit cheating. <\/p>\n
Court documents stated that Chong went on messaging platform Telegram in November 2024 to look for employment and came across an advertisement that promised a monthly salary of RM3,000 (S$950). <\/p>\n
He then spoke to a Telegram user, known only as \u201cNASA\u201d, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir. <\/p>\n
According to Chong, NASA said he would be given an advance payment of 700 USDT cryptocurrency (S$895, based on court documents), in exchange for tasks including renting an apartment in Singapore. <\/p>\n
Chong agreed to work for NASA and entered Singapore on March 9, 2025, on a one-day trip to look for a rental apartment. <\/p>\n
He came across a rental advertisement on Facebook and viewed an apartment that day. Details about the unit have been redacted from court documents. Chong asked for the unit to be equipped with high-speed broadband. The landlord agreed to do so. <\/p>\n
DPP Hidayat said: \u201c(Chong) lied that he was the manager of a dim sum shop, and that the unit would be occupied by female employees… He did so to convince (the landlord) to rent the unit to him. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen (the landlord) asked for his particulars, he forwarded a photo of an ID of a Malaysian female, which had been given by NASA, and lied… that she would be one of the occupants.\u201d <\/p>\n
In reality, Chong did not know the woman. <\/p>\n
He was in Singapore again four days later and signed a tenancy agreement to rent the unit for six months for $18,000.<\/p>\n
Chong also spent RM3,000 to buy daily amenities and a new lock for the main gate to the apartment.<\/p>\n
Court documents stated that he had earlier received the money from an undisclosed source in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
In late March 2025, NASA told him to take to Singapore telecommunication gadgets known as \u201cvoice over internet protocol global system for mobile communications gateway devices\u201d (VoIP GSM Gateway devices) and install them in the unit. <\/p>\n
Chong told investigators that after receiving the 700 USDT, he made four single-day trips from Malaysia to Singapore between March 30 and April 13, 2025. <\/p>\n
He installed nine such gadgets in two bedrooms of the apartment. <\/p>\n
The prosecutor said: \u201cOn the instruction of NASA, (Chong) installed two CCTV cameras to monitor the entrances of the bedrooms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accused avoided driving his own car into Singapore and only did so during two… trips out of necessity. He did this to minimise the chances of his car being searched and the authorities discovering his importation of the devices.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gadgets were later used in the ruse. <\/p>\n
DPP Hidayat told the court that the masterminds behind the operation would initiate calls from outside Singapore. <\/p>\n
They had pre-configured the calls to play automatic scam voice messages when answered. The calls would then be directed to a centralised system known as a \u201cSIM pool\u201d housing multiple SIM cards in a single system. The SIM pool was located overseas. <\/p>\n
The calls would connect to the devices, placing them on a cellular network in Singapore. <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the devices were located in Singapore, the call would appear as a local call to the intended recipient,\u201d added the prosecutor. <\/p>\n
Between April 4 and 16, 2025, the devices transmitted call sessions targeting victims in Singapore. <\/p>\n
A total of 131 mobile numbers were traced to the unit, and they were featured in 75 different police reports relating to scams. <\/p>\n
In three of the reports, the victims suffered losses totalling more than $1.6 million which have not been recovered. <\/p>\n
The three reports involved false information given by unknown persons pretending to be investigators from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. <\/p>\n
The devices also transmitted more than 50,000 call sessions linked to around 18,000 mobile numbers. Forty of them were featured in 42 police reports. Out of these reports, 13 were linked to impersonation scams involving government officials. <\/p>\n <\/a><\/figure>\n \u201cThese call sessions contained automated voice messages containing false information purporting to originate from government agencies or financial institutions including the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and (a) local bank,\u201d said the DPP. <\/p>\n Chong was supposed to install 20 devices in all, but could not do so after officers from the Commercial Affairs Department raided the unit on April 17, 2025, when he was not around. <\/p>\n The next day, NASA asked him to check the devices in the unit as they appeared to be malfunctioning. <\/p>\n Chong entered Singapore on April 18 that year. When he peeked into the unit, he saw the devices were gone. He left Singapore soon after, but Royal Malaysian Police officers arrested him on June 28, 2025. He was handed over to the SPF two days later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/div>\n