\n<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE: A man who devised a scheme to lure men on dating platforms into losing money in rigged mahjong games was sentenced to jail on Thursday (Nov 5).<\/p>\n
Marcus Ang Yi Sheng, a 27-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to two years’ jail and fined S$15,000 (US$11,751).<\/p>\n
He pleaded guilty to eight charges, including multiple counts of conspiring to cheat, as well as criminal intimidation and charges related to gambling.<\/p>\n
Another 33 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.<\/p>\n
Ang estimated that the group earned about S$100,000 across multiple games.<\/span><\/p>\n Ang devised the conspiracy around April 2024. He created dating profiles of fictional women on dating platforms like OkCupid and Tinder with accompanying Telegram usernames.<\/p>\n Prospective dates would contact Ang through the Telegram usernames, and he would pose as the fictional women before inviting them to play mahjong.<\/p>\n Once a game was scheduled, Ang would direct a female co-conspirator to pose as the woman in the dating profile and host the session.<\/p>\n The games were held at locations including a Housing Board flat and SAFRA Toa Payoh.<\/p>\n Each game involved a victim and three co-conspirators seated at the mahjong table, with the accomplices assigned specific roles.<\/p>\n Some of them acted as friends or siblings to each other, while others posed as strangers.<\/p>\n A co-conspirator acting as a reserve player would observe the victim’s style of play and relay the information to other players to reduce the chances of the victim winning.<\/p>\n The players were assigned tasks such as preventing the victim from winning, forming winning hands or throwing tiles needed by their accomplices.<\/p>\n According to Ang, this scheme allowed the conspirators to win 99 per cent of the time.<\/p>\n Ang set up a WhatsApp chat group called “Sales appointment updates” to disseminate information among the accomplices.<\/p>\n He also conducted training sessions to teach the rest how to play in each designated position.<\/p>\n Winnings were pooled and handed to Ang, who would then distribute “commissions” to the co-conspirators.<\/p>\n The co-conspirators each earned a commission of between S$300 and S$500 for each mahjong session.<\/p>\n There were at least 28 victims in 28 games in 2024.<\/p>\n Ang was assigned to be a player in 18 games, of which 12 eventually took place and in which he participated.<\/p>\n One victim was told he had to pay S$26,000 after losing a game on Jun 1, 2024, but refused.<\/p>\n Another victim was also pressured to pay S$26,000 after losing a game. Ang threatened to visit this victim’s workplace and report him to the police for allegedly raping an accomplice.<\/p>\n The victim later filed a police report.<\/p>\n Ang was arrested in June 2024 and released on bail, but reoffended and was remanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n He was later offered bail but reoffended a second time and was remanded again.<\/p>\n The prosecution sought 25 to 27 months’ jail with a fine of S$15,000 for Ang.<\/p>\n Ang’s lawyer, Mr John Koh from Avalon Law, sought 19 to 21 months’ jail with a fine of S$15,000.<\/p>\n Ang’s accomplice, host and player Olivia Chin Hui Zhen, was sentenced to eight months’ jail and fined S$3,000 last month. She was the first member of the group to plead guilty.<\/p>\n The cases involving the remaining accomplices are pending.<\/span><\/p>\n For each charge of conspiring to cheat, Ang could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.<\/p>\n For unlawful gambling, he could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.<\/p>\n For organising unlawful gambling, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to S$500,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTHE CASE<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
Read Full Article At Source <\/a>
\n