A 41-year-old Singaporean father of 7 children, Feroz Akthar Hussain, reportedly printed 4 copies of a $50 note and used it to pay a Filipino prostitute that he hired after using her services last year, according to the South China Morning Post.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of using counterfeit currency and also for failing to produce his passport to an immigration officer and was sentenced to 3 years and 6 weeks imprisonment on Friday.
The court also took into consideration 2 other charges in relation to the money forgery and skipping bail.
What happened?
On 28 December 2022, Feroz, who was working as a bus driver at the time, wanted to hire a 24-year-old Filipino prostitute for her services but couldn’t afford it.
So he then photocopied a $50 note with an inkjet printer, making 4 copies of the money, with three of the note bearing the same serial number.
Feroz then used the fake money to pay for 1 hour of the prostitute’s service at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel at Havelock Road, which cost about $350.
On 31 December, the woman was paying for her laundry bill at the Mercure Singapore on Stevens Hotel at Orchard, using the fake notes that she received from Feroz.
The front office manager of the hotel then suspected that the money she is using was fake, and called the police after telling her to wait in the lobby.
Then on 4 January 2023, Feroz tried to escape to Malaysia at about 1.40 am to avoid being prosecuted because he was out on bail at the time, although it was not mentioned in court for what offences Feroz was being prosecuted.
He withdrew about $1,900 from an ATM and took a taxi to the Hougang Heavy Vehicle Park and asked his colleague, “Din” to help smuggle him to Malaysia at about 7 am.
He hid himself within a small space behind the bus engine and crossed the border at Tuas Checkpoint without being detected.
On 5 January at about 1.35 pm, he returned to the Tuas Checkpoint without his passport and was arrested after confessing to ICA officers that he was wanted by the police and had entered Malaysia illegally.