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The Police will be charging a 33-year-old male Chinese national and a 25-year-old female Chinese national for their suspected involvement in engaging in a conspiracy to counterfeit Singapore currency notes.

On 24 August 2026 at about 3.50am, the Police received a report where a man had attempted to change a counterfeit Singapore S$100 note  at Marina Bay Sands Casino. Officers from the Central Police Division and Commercial Affairs Department attended to the case and preliminary investigations revealed that the man had handed over S$150,000 to the cage cashier, requesting that the amount be deposited into his casino account. Upon counting the cash, the cage cashier discovered that one Singapore S$100 Portrait Series note had the word “COPY” printed on it, and promptly reported the case to the Police.

The man was subsequently escorted by Police officers to his hotel room where the woman was seen leaving the room with a printer. A search was conducted and 121 counterfeit Singapore S$100 counterfeit notes were found in her possession. During the search at the hotel room, Police officers uncovered counterfeiting instruments including a bottled ink, paper, and a paper cutter, which were subsequently seized as case exhibits.

The duo will be charged in court on 26 August 2026 with the offence of engaging in a conspiracy to counterfeit Singapore Currency notes, under Section 489A, read with Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871, which is punishable with an imprisonment term which may extend to 20 years, and a fine.

The Police take a serious view of any person found to be criminally involved in currency counterfeiting activities. Under the Penal Code 1871, anyone found guilty of making, counterfeiting, using or possession of counterfeit currency or bank note can be punished as follows:

• Forging or counterfeiting currency or bank notes under Section 489A of the Penal Code 1871 — punishable with an imprisonment term of up to 20 years, and a fine.
• Using as genuine counterfeit currency or bank notes under Section 489B of the Penal Code 1871 — punishable with an imprisonment term of up to 20 years, and a fine.
• Possession of forged or counterfeit currency or bank notes under Section 489C of the Penal Code 1871 — punishable with an imprisonment term of up to 15 years, and a fine.
• Making or possessing instruments or materials for forging or counterfeiting currency or bank notes under Section 489D of the Penal Code 1871 — punishable with an imprisonment term of up to 20 years, and a fine.
  
  

Members of the public who receive any suspected counterfeit currency note should:

• Call the Police at '999' immediately.
• Note down the description of the person(s) who presented the counterfeit note, including gender, race, age, height, build, clothing, tattoos, and language or dialect spoken.
• Limit handling of the suspected counterfeit note and place it in a protective covering such as an envelope or folded paper to prevent further tampering, before handing it over to the Police.
  
  

Information on the security features of genuine Singapore currency is available on the Monetary Authority of Singapore's website at: https://www.mas.gov.sg/currency/Identifying-Genuine-Currency.

Photo of seized counterfeit notes

Photo of suspected counterfeiting instruments