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The Police have arrested a 42-year-old Malaysian man for his suspected involvement in a case of Government Official Impersonation Scam (“GOIS”).

On 5 October 2025, the Police received a report of GOIS involving the impersonation of a government official purportedly from the Singapore Police Force. The victim had allegedly handed over cash totalling $114,000 on four occasions to an unknown man, after being instructed by the scammer to do so. The victim was told that she had been implicated in a money laundering investigation, and was instructed by the scammer to make cash withdrawals from her bank accounts for the purposes of investigations. 

Through extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command established the identity of the unknown man and arrested him on 30 October 2025 when he re-entered Singapore.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man is believed to be involved in other similar cases and had allegedly been tasked by unknown persons to collect cash from victims of GOIS. The monies collected were then handed over to the said unknown persons.

The man will be charged in court on 1 November 2025 with the offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51(1)(a) and punishable under Section 51(5) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992, read with Section 109 and Section 108B of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both.

The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. The Police would like to remind members of the public never to transfer monies, hand monies or other valuables to any unknown persons or persons whose identity you did not verify.

We would like to remind members of the public to NEVER transfer or hand monies/ valuables to unknown persons and persons whose identity you did not verify. NEVER place monies or valuables at a physical location to facilitate subsequent collection. Do not share the screens of your devices with any unknown persons. Singapore Government officials, will never ask members of the public to do the following things over a phone call:

1. Ask you to transfer money
2. Ask you to disclose bank log-in details
3. Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores
4. Transfer your call to the Police

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/i-witness. 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.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.