The Police have arrested two men aged 21 and 25 for their suspected involvement in a case of China Officials Impersonation Scam (“COIS”).
On 17 January 2024, the Police received two separate reports that a 19-year-old woman (“female victim”) and a 21-year-old man (“male victim”) had allegedly been kidnapped. Prior to the reports, the parents of the victims, who were based in China, received videos of the victims being tied up with ransom demands from unknown persons communicating in Mandarin. The victims’ parents contacted their friends in Singapore, who in turn reported the incidents to the Police.
Following the reports, officers from Clementi Police Division, Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and Anti-Scam Command conducted extensive follow-up investigations and tracked down the victims within 12 hours of the Police reports received. They were subsequently established to be victims of China Officials Impersonation Scam.
In the first case, the female victim had received an unsolicited call on 31 October 2023, purportedly from an Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer. She was then routed to another scammer claiming to be a police officer from China, who alleged that her particulars were used to sign up for a bank card involved in money laundering activities in China.
The scammer further told the female victim that to avoid being arrested and deported, she had to furnish monies as bail and case resolution. Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim had transferred more than $230,000 to the bank accounts of the China Police. As part of the purported ongoing investigations, the female victim was made to report to the “China Police” through video calls over a messaging application on her mobile phone five times daily. Sometime in early January 2024, the scammer asked the female victim to assist in the ongoing investigation by recording a video of herself being tied up and pretending that she was captured. She was told that the video would be used to spread scam awareness. The scammer arranged for the video recording to be facilitated by the 25-year-old man who also acted in the staged kidnap scene where he pointed a kukri knife at the female victim to make the video more convincing. About a week later, the scammer instructed the female victim to isolate herself at a safehouse arranged by the 25-year-old man, and cease communication with others, including her parents, to facilitate their investigations.
In the second case, preliminary investigations revealed that the male victim had received an unsolicited call sometime in early November 2023, purportedly from an ICA officer. The male victim was accused of having a Chinese mobile number that was associated in the spread of COVID-19-related rumours in China. He was then routed to another scammer claiming to be a police officer from China, who further alleged that he was involved in money laundering activities. As part of the purported ongoing investigations, the male victim was made to report to the “China Police” through messages and video calls over a messaging application on his phone five times daily.
Acting under the instructions of the scammer, the male victim transferred about $215,000 into bank accounts provided by the scammer, on the pretext that it was for bail. Sometime in early January 2024, the scammer asked the male victim to record a video of himself being tied up and pretending that he was captured as part of scam education. The video recording was similarly facilitated by the 25-year-old man who was seen to be pointing a kukri knife at the male victim and demanding for ransom. The victim was spotted with bruises all over his body.
On 15 January 2024, the scammer instructed the male victim to isolate himself at a safehouse rented by the 21-year-old man, where he was eventually located.
Unbeknownst to the two victims, the scammers had sent the purported scam education videos to threaten their parents and demand for ransom.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the two men had acted on the scammers’ instructions to book and rent units for the victims and exchanged the victims’ mobile phones with new mobile phones and SIM cards so that the victims could not be reached by anyone, except the scammers.
Police investigations into the cases are ongoing. Case exhibits such as the kukri and ropes used in the video were seized.
Those found guilty of the offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871 face an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine. Those found guilty of the offence of possession of a scheduled weapon under Section 7(1) of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958 face an imprisonment term of up to 5 years and with caning with not less than 6 strokes.
The Police would like to highlight that overseas law enforcement agencies have no jurisdiction to conduct operations in Singapore, arrest anyone or ask members of the public to help with any form of investigations without the approval of the Singapore Government. The Police take a serious view against any person who may be involved in scams, whether knowingly or unwittingly, and they will be dealt with firmly, in accordance with the law.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD - ScamShield App and set security features (e.g., enable two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication for banks, social media, Singpass accounts; set transaction limits on internet banking transactions). Do not send or transfer money to anyone whom you do not know or have not met in person before.
- CHECK - For scam signs and with official sources (e.g., visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688). Beware of phone calls from unknown numbers (with or without the “+” prefix) and refrain from giving out personal information and bank details to callers over the phone. Government agencies will not ask you to transfer monies to any bank accounts.
- TELL – Inform the authorities, family, and friends about scams and do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
Exhibits seized ▼
Screenshots of videos ▼
Photos of arrests ▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
20 January 2024 @ 4:22 PM