The Police have arrested a 20-year-old Malaysian man for his suspected involvement in a case of government official impersonation scam (“GOIS”).
On 27 August 2025 at about 5.30pm, the Police received a call for assistance from United Overseas Bank (UOB) regarding a suspicious over-the-counter cash cheque withdrawal request by a man at one of their branches. Through swift follow up investigations and close collaboration with vigilant bank staff, officers from the Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) and Tanglin Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him within an hour of the report.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had allegedly facilitated cash cheque encashments amounting to S$200,000 in relation to a report of GOIS involving the impersonation of a government official purportedly from the Singapore Police Force. A 62-year-old victim was allegedly told that she had been implicated in a case and was required to surrender funds for investigative purposes. Following the scammers' instructions, the victim allegedly handed over a cheque book with pre-signed blank pages to the man. She had also been allegedly advised by the scammers to validate the transactions should the banks make any requests for clarifications over the phone. Investigations also revealed that the man consequently made cash cheque encashments at different bank locations, before UOB alerted the Police. The prompt escalation by UOB and timely intervention by the ASCom foiled a subsequent attempted encashment, preventing further losses of S$50,000. A cheque book was found in his possession and seized as a case exhibit.
Extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations revealed that the man had also purportedly travelled to Singapore on previous occasions in August 2025 to collect and deliver cash on behalf of the scam syndicate. Preliminary investigations revealed that he is believed to be working in facilitating the scam syndicate to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
The man will be charged in court on 29 August 2025 with the offence of Abetment by conspiracy to assist another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. 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.
The Police would also like to inform members of the public that Singapore Government officials will never ask members of the public to do the following do these things over a phone call:
- Ask you to transfer money;
- Ask you to disclose banking log-in details;
- Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores; and
- Transfer your call to 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.
Case exhibit seized ▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
28 August 2025 @ 6:10 PM