A 64-year-old Singaporean woman, Boey Poh Lian Ivy, was convicted of 2 counts of acquiring the criminal benefits of another person, under Section 47(3) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (“CDSA”), and punishable under Section 47(6) of the CDSA on 20 March 2020. She was sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment.
In November 2017, the accused entered into an online relationship with a man, whom she has never met in person. The man subsequently requested the accused to help him receive funds for purported business purposes. The accused agreed to help him and provided her bank account details to him.
The accused received two sums amounting to S$50,000 and S$48,000 from two elderly victims of Internet love scams in her account in March 2018, despite having reasonable grounds to believe that these are funds derived from criminal conduct. She brought the cash to Malaysia to deliver it to strangers who were sent by the man to meet her.
The offence of acquiring or transferring criminal benefits under the CDSA carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, or a fine of up to S$500,000, or both. The Police would like to remind members of the public not to allow others to use their bank accounts for any purposes.
Internet love scams remain a serious crime concern. In 2019, victims lost at least S$34.6 million in 649 cases of such scams. In these scams, victims unsuspectingly befriended scammers on social media platforms and developed online relationships with them. The scammers would then cheat the victims to transfer money for various fictitious purposes, such as business loans, legal fees or courier fees for parcels that the scammers claim to be sending to the victims.
To avoid falling prey to these scams, members of the public should be careful when befriending strangers online. They should also be wary when being asked to send money to people whom they do not know. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688.Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
27 March 2020 @ 10:55 PM