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SINGAPORE – A vigilant branch manager at Sheng Siong Supermarket made a police report immediately after he noticed a man withdrawing money from a machine using a PayNow account that did not seem to belong to him. <\/p>\n
It took place at Sheng Siong\u2019s Simple Teller Machine ($TM), which allows cash withdrawals from bank accounts through ATM cards or PayNow QR codes. <\/p>\n
The branch manager at the supermarket chain\u2019s Tampines outlet felt something was amiss as he had been notified by the company\u2019s headquarters of unusual withdrawal patterns at several outlets.<\/p>\n
His vigilance led to the arrest of Muhammad Izz Iryan Mod Ali, 24, on the same day in June 2025. <\/p>\n
On April 10, Izz was sentenced to two months\u2019 jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of being in possession of the benefits of criminal conduct.<\/p>\n
He was in effect \u201ca runner for laundering benefits of criminal conduct\u201d, the prosecution said.<\/p>\n
Court documents show that Izz had visited seven Sheng Siong Supermarket outlets on June 19, 2025, to withdraw money from the teller machines. <\/p>\n
In total, Izz made 22 withdrawals amounting to $20,300 in cash.<\/p>\n
Investigations later revealed that the entire sum came from one DBS bank account, belonging to an unnamed 47-year-old woman, which was linked to criminal proceeds obtained from 11 scam victims.<\/p>\n
When officers questioned Izz on the origins of the $20,300, he claimed to have obtained the cash as part of a job that he had found on Telegram. <\/p>\n
A chat group administrator had told him to visit various Sheng Siong supermarket outlets to make withdrawals at the teller machines. <\/p>\n
At each machine, he was to make withdrawals until it was depleted of cash, before moving to another outlet to do the same.<\/p>\n
Izz claimed he had not been given instructions on what to do with the collected amount thereafter. <\/p>\n
But officers found he was unable to provide any proof to back up his claims, including any evidence of the Telegram chat group or instructions provided by the said group\u2019s administrator. <\/p>\n
The prosecutor said that Izz had taken no steps to ask about even the basic details of the alleged job opportunity. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the accused did not appear to be the mastermind, the accused\u2019s participation was not minor as he had withdrawn cash from $TMs, effectively acting as a runner for laundering benefits of criminal conduct,\u201d said the prosecutor. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n