The Singapore Police Force said in a news release earlier today (17 August) that a 25-year-old man is set to be charged for his suspected involvement in a case of using forged documents.

Singapore Police Force’s statement

The Police will be charging a 25-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of using a forged document.

On 14 August 2022, the Police received a report where a man allegedly produced a forged Malaysian driving licence for verification upon the request of Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at Woodlands Checkpoint. ICA officers had asked for the man’s identifier as part of their investigation into a smuggling case where a total of 4,600 boxes of vapes with an estimated value of $100,000 were seized. Investigations are ongoing.

Through extensive investigations and collaboration with the ICA, officers from Woodlands Police Division arrested the man on 14 August 2022.

The man will be charged in court on 15 August 2022 with the offence of using as genuine a forged document under Section 471 read with Section 465 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to four years, a fine, or both.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
17 August 2022 @ 12:27 PM

The Singapore Police Force said in a press release that 6 people were arrested for allegedly stealing cars from carparks at Jurong West Street 52 and Boon Lay Drive.

The youngest suspect is only 14 years old.

Singapore Police Force’s statement

The Police have arrested six men, aged 14 to 32, for their suspected involvement in two cases of theft of motor vehicles.

On 15 August 2022, the Police received reports of theft of two cars from the carparks at Jurong West Street 52 and Boon Lay Drive respectively.

Through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from Police cameras and CCTVs, officers from Jurong Police Division, Clementi Police Division, Police Operations Command Centre, Criminal Investigation Department and Police Intelligence Department established the identities of the six men and arrested them on 15 and 16 August 2022. The two stolen cars were also recovered.

The men will be charged in court on 17 August 2022 and 18 August 2022 with theft of motor vehicles with common intention under Section 379A of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to seven years and a fine.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
17 August 2022 @ 7:45 AM

Image source: Singapore Police Force and Google Maps

A 20-year-old pleaded guilty to cheating 7 of his friends of more than $330,000 in an investment scam (he was 16 years old at the time of the offence).

He then spent the money on online gambling, as well as buying items used in online games.

He pleaded guilty on 16 August to three counts of cheating three people – the accused cannot be identified or named because he was under 18 when he committed the offences.

Four other similar charges will be considered during his sentencing, and he is set to return to court on 23 August, after probation and informative training reports were called.

Background

He had claimed that he made money from trading bitcoin, and told his schoolmates (who were 17 years old at the time) that he would help them invest in the foreign exchange and cryptocurrency markets.

He also “guaranteed” them fixed returns if they invested in the markets through him.

The 20-year-old (who was 16 at the time) had wanted some of the money to buy virtual items for the online game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which he was intending to sell.

He decided to lie to his friends because he knew that they wouldn’t give him the money.

The victims were cheated for a total of $332,067.

They (the victims) then lodged police reports when they didn’t receive the returns on their “investment” that the youth had promised them.

Investment scam

One of the victims had given him $106,050 over 26 occasions between 8 May 2018 and 11 August 2018, and the accused then gave him $40,870 as his “investment returns”.

Another victim who was a classmate of the accused, gave him $188,847 over 35 occasions between January 2018 and August 2018, and the accused also gave him $40,695 as his “investment returns” as well.

The third victim, gave him $5,000, but didn’t receive any of the “investment returns”.

Lawrence Wong was speaking during an interview with Bloomberg’s John Micklethwait on 16 August, and was asked when he would officially be stepping up to take over as prime minister from current PM Lee Hsien Loong.

He told Bloomberg that it will be taking place no later than 2025, and that it will either be before or after the next General Elections in 2025.

However, he did add that the plans are not concrete yet.

On taking over from PM Lee, Wong told John that he will either succeed PM Lee and lead the PAP during the elections, or PM Lee will lead the PAP for the last time before handing over to him.

Wong said that for now, he is focusing on settling into his expanded portfolio and organising the 4G team, and that the decision on the actual timing has yet to be made.

Wong also expressed his support for a future Singapore leader who isn’t Chinese, with the government basing their selections on merit.

He said that if someone who is fit to lead is unearthed, he would welcome that person, adding that “we are such a small city, and so we cannot afford to have divisions amongst ourselves.”

Source: Transcript of Lawrence Wong’s interview with Bloomberg via Ministry of Finance.