37-year-old Mohamad Hafiz Salim Alkhatib, the founder of The Malayan Council (a popular chain of restaurants) is facing 41 charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

He had allegedly falsely declared the salaries of his workers to MOM, and told 13 of his workers to lie to the ministry in 2019.

The Straits Times reported that Hafiz had allegedly falsely declared his workers’ salaries in their work pass applications.

He also made 13 of his workers, who were holding positions like managers, supervisors, and customer service executives, lie to MOM in 2019.

Hafiz is being accused of paying one of the 13 workers $200 lesser than the declared salary, between the months of February and August 2019.

He is also being charged with instigating Ms Sheikhah Mumtaz Sheikh Mustafa, the director of The Malayan Council, to lie to the authorities on three occasions about the workers’ work passes.

He is also being charged with employing two foreign workers without valid work plasses in 2019, at their Bussorah Street outlet.

Hafiz is currently out on bail of $15,000, and his case has been adjourned to 27 December.

45-year-old police officer Poo Tze Chiang, allegedly took bribes totalling $32,500, and was charged with 7 counts of corruption and 3 counts of obstruction of justice on 22 November.

He had allegedly received bribes of about $32,500 from Cordell Chan Yuen Kwang and Wang Huate on 7 occasions, from 2019 to 2020.

He was allegedly given the bribes so that he would provide information to Chan and Wang, relating to the police investigations against them.

51-year-old Ng Chuan Seng also allegedly aided Chan and Wang in September 2019 by giving Poo a $2,000 red packet – Ng was charged with one count of corruption on Tuesday.

Poo allegedly told Chan on 5 August 2020 that Wang would be detained if he reported for bail.

The three of them were at a void deck in Bukit Batok when Poo purportedly flashed his police warrant card at 2 police officers who were patrolling in the area so that they wouldn’t perform checks on Chan and Wang.

On 25 November, Poo then allegedly told Chan that he had spotted a colleague’s car, and told Chan to head to a coffeeshop nearby.

The CPIB said that Singapore has zero tolerance towards corruption, and if convicted, Poo faces a jail term of up to 5 years and a fine of up to $100k, for each charge.

60-year-old Yieh Kan Wah, was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment earlier today (22 November) for one count of voluntarily causing hurt, he had 2 other charges taken into consideration during his sentencing.

What happened?

Yieh was with his friends at a coffeeshop at Block 1 Beach Road on 21 April 2021, while the 63-year-old victim was also with his friends at the time.

The victim went to the toilet at about 9.15pm but was accidentally locked inside, before being released about 20 minutes later.

He then went to confront the owner of the coffeeshop and expressed his unhappiness, and Yieh (who was sitting 2 tables away) stepped in to try and calm him down.

However, the two men then got into an argument with Yieh getting increasingly agitated, before passing his phone to his friend and approaching the victim.

A fight then broke out and Yieh punched the victim in the face twice before the two got separated; the victim’s nose was bleeding but Yoieh then continued to approach him as he picked up a glass beer bottle.

The two men were then kept apart from each other and Yieh then started retreating, but this time the victim started approaching him.

Yieh then dropped the glass bottle and it shattered into pieces, and he then picked up a piece of glass fragment and hit the victim in the face when the latter lunged at him, resulting in the victim suffering a 7cm cut on his face.

The victim then fell onto a few chairs before falling to the ground, as Yieh continued to attack him, before his firned pulled him away.

The incidents were caught on CCTV cameras, and the victim ended up needing surgery for multiple facial lacerations and bruising.

The victim incurred medical expenses of $968.55, to which Yieh compensated him $970.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a Facebook video yesterday (21 November) that they foiled one of the largest attempts to smuggle 77,500 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes and 1,360kg of chewing tobacco into Singapore via a Malaysia-registered lorry.

Here is what they said

𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙢𝙤𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚… 🤔

On 20 Oct 2022, ICA officers at Tuas Checkpoint foiled one of the largest attempts to smuggle 77,500 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes and 1,360kg of chewing tobacco into Singapore via a Malaysia-registered lorry.

Watch how our eagle-eyed officers detect and extract the large amount of prohibited items.

The case was referred to Singapore Customs and the Health Sciences Authority for further investigations.

As guardians of our borders, ICA will continue to keep a watchful eye to thwart smuggling attempts through Singapore’s borders.

MAS Statement to Address Misconceptions in the Wake of Collapse of FTX

Singapore, 21 November 2022… The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would like to address some questions and misconceptions that have arisen in the wake of the FTX.com (FTX) debacle.

2.  A first misconception is that it was possible to protect local users who dealt with FTX, such as by ringfencing their assets or ensuring that FTX backed its assets with reserves. MAS cannot do this as FTX is not licensed by MAS and operates offshore ^[1] . MAS has consistently warned about the dangers of dealing with unregulated entities.

3.  A second question is why MAS treated Binance.com (Binance) differently from FTX, specifically why it was placed on the Investor Alert List (IAL) while FTX was not. 

4. While both Binance and FTX are not licensed here, there is a clear difference between the two: Binance was actively soliciting users in Singapore while FTX was not. Binance in fact went to the extent of offering listings in Singapore dollars and accepted Singapore-specific payment modes such as PayNow and PayLah.

5. MAS received several complaints about Binance between January and August 2021. There were also announcements in multiple jurisdictions ^[2]  of unlicensed solicitation of customers by Binance during the same period.

6. With regard to FTX, there was no evidence that it was soliciting Singapore users specifically. Trades on FTX also could not be transacted in Singapore dollars. But as in the case of thousands of other financial and crypto entities that operate overseas, Singapore users were able to access FTX services online.

7. MAS placed Binance on the IAL because it had solicited Singapore users without a licence. Further, on MAS’ referral, the Commercial Affairs Department commenced investigation into Binance for possible contravention of the Payment Services Act (PS Act). There was no reason to place FTX on the IAL as there was no evidence that it had contravened the PS Act.

8. MAS required Binance to stop soliciting Singapore users ^[3] . To assure MAS that it was no longer doing so, Binance put in place various measures including geo-blocking of Singapore IP addresses and the removal of its mobile application from Singapore app stores. These measures were intended to demonstrate beyond doubt that Binance had ceased soliciting and providing services to Singapore users. Should Binance decide now to dismantle some of these restrictions, it has to continue to comply with the prohibition against soliciting Singapore users without a licence. 

9. A third question is whether MAS should exhaustively list on the IAL and provide information on all the offshore crypto exchanges in the world. There are hundreds of such exchanges, and thousands of other entities offshore that accept investments in non-crypto assets. It is not possible to list all of them and no regulator in the world has done so.

10. The purpose of the IAL is to warn the public of entities that may be wrongly perceived as being MAS-regulated, especially those which solicit Singapore customers for financial business without the requisite MAS licence. It does not mean that the thousands of other entities operating offshore, which are not listed on the IAL, are safe to deal with.

11. In addition to maintaining the IAL, MAS publishes a Financial Institutions Directory on its website that is an exhaustive list of all MAS-regulated entities.

12. The most important lesson from the FTX debacle is that dealing in any cryptocurrency, on any platform, is hazardous.

13. Crypto exchanges can and do fail. Even if a crypto exchange is licensed in Singapore, it would be currently only regulated to address money-laundering risks, not to protect investors. This is similar to the approach currently taken in most jurisdictions. MAS has recently published a consultation paper proposing basic investor protection measures for crypto players who are licensed to operate in Singapore ^[4] .

14. Further, even if a crypto exchange is well-managed, cryptocurrencies themselves are highly volatile and many of them have lost all value. 

15. The ongoing turmoil in the crypto industry serves as a reminder of the huge risks of dealing in cryptocurrencies. As MAS has repeatedly stated, there is no protection for customers who deal in cryptocurrencies. They can lose all their money.

***

45-year-old Neo Aik Chiao, a lieutenant-colonel from the Republic of Singapore Air Force who had flown helicopters including a Chinook, allegedly trespassed into a dormitory at Nanyang Technological University and molested a woman there.

The incident allegedly happened on 13 November at about 2am.

MINDEF said in a statement to Straits Times that Neo has been suspended from all his duties by the SAF, and that they will carefully assess the eventual findings before deciding on further actions to take against him.

They added that they hold their service personnel to “high standards of discipline and integrity”.

What happened?

Neo was charged on 15 November with 2 counts of criminal trespass, as well as one count of molestation.

He had allegedly trespassed into the dormitory rooms of two women aged 18 and 21 on 13 November, where he allegedly molested the 21-year-old by touching her left thigh.

NTU said that the police were immediately called to the scene and that they have since stepped up security at the campus and provided support to the victims.

Neo’s case has been adjourned to next Tuesday (29 November).

A 51-year-old preschool teacher got irritated when a 4-year-old boy with special needs, didn’t go to sleep during his naptime.

She pulled the boy’s ears, pushing and pulling him around repeatedly and inflicting scratches on the boy.

The woman pleaded guilty to one count of mistreating the boy under the Children and Young Persons Act, with another charge for using criminal force on the boy being considered for her sentencing.

She will be sentenced in January next year.

What happened?

TODAY reported that the woman had been working at the preschool for nearly 10 years, and would teach the kids Mandarin, as well as bathing and feeding them, bringing them out for playtime outdoors and taking care of them during naptime.

The incident happened on 2 December 2020 at about 12.34pm, when she got angry because the boy wouldn’t go to sleep during naptime.

The woman also didn’t eat her lunch yet and was frustrated because she was hungry and tired, and she then pushed the boy and caused him to roll off the sleeping mat.

The boy then sat up and she grabbed him by his left forearm and dragged him across the floor.

She also pulled his ears repeatedly and scratched his neck, continuing to be rough on the boy even though he was starting to cry.

She then used the back of the boy’s shirt to pull him towards her while he was seated, and the boy then tried to retreat away from her but she then pulled him by his shirt again, before pushing his back, resulting in the boy falling forward.

She then pulled him towards her again, before pushing him with her right hand.

When the boy’s mother came to pick him up later that day, the teacher told her that the scratches on the boy’s body was accidental, and that it came about because he was struggling while she was trying to pat him to sleep.

The mother then found more marks on her son’s body at home and she then filed a complaint with the school.

The teacher also lied to the school principal, but after being shown CCTV footage of her actions, she admitted to mistreating the boy.

A police report was then filed by the boy’s mother, and the school then paid for the child’s medical fees – the teacher was also fired by the school.

The Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) of the Singapore Police Force in collaboration with six banks, namely CIMB, DBS, HSBC, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB, conducted a four-day joint operation from 14 to 17 November 2022.

During the operation, officers and our partners prevented losses of more than $5.1 million from more than 1,100 victims.

Interventions in Investment and Job Scams

For investment scams, victims are often contacted via social media platforms and introduced to investment opportunities by scammers claiming to be financial professionals. Once lured, the victims would be introduced to investment experts for sure-win investment recommendations. Victims would be enticed by the promise of easy earnings and transfer their money to bank accounts. In many instances, victims would earn a small profit from the ‘investment’ at the initial stage, leading them to believe the scheme is legitimate and lucrative. Thereafter, victims would be asked to pay administrative fees, legal fees or taxes in order to receive their profits. After victims have deposited larger sums of monies, the scammers would become uncontactable.

For job scams, victims typically respond to job advertisements for quick cash on social media platforms and chat applications. They would then be told to order items from online platforms or provide online ratings for companies, purportedly to boost sales figures or improve the reviews of these businesses. Victims would pay for the items or tasks assigned to them by fund transfers to bank accounts and would initially be reimbursed the full amount together with an attractive commission. When the scheme progresses to a point where victims have transferred large sums of money, the scammers would become uncontactable, leaving victims empty-handed.

During the operation, officers from the ASC and the co-located staff from six banks conducted live interventions by analysing the fund flows of more than 90 bank accounts, which were surfaced in investment and job scam reports. The ASC and the seven Police Land Divisions and the six banks worked together to engage unsuspecting victims who had been transferring monies into these scam-tainted bank accounts.

During the four-day operation, more than 1,100 unsuspecting victims were alerted that they could have fallen prey to scams and were advised to stop any further monetary transfers. Many of these victims only realized that they have been deceived after they were engaged and convinced by the Police. Scam proceeds amounting to more than $1.5 million were seized and Police further prevented these scam victims from financial losses amounting to more than $5.1 million.

Suicide Attempt foiled

During one of the phone engagements, a job scam victim became distressed when he realised that he was cheated of more than $5,000, as he had borrowed the money from his friends to fund his ‘job’. Sensing that something was amiss, police officers proceeded to the victim’s residence to check on him and managed to dissuade him from self-harm.

Members of the public are advised to remain vigilant and adopt the following crime prevention measures:

1. Be wary when receiving unsolicited offers of investment or job opportunities via social media platforms or chat applications;
   
2. Understand that investments with high returns will come with high risks,
   
3. Always check with a licensed financial advisor before making any investment;
   
4. Do not be enticed by ‘jobs’ that promise the convenience of working from home and unusually high salary for relatively easy responsibilities. No legitimate business will require employees to utilise their own bank accounts to receive monies on the business’ behalf.

To avoid becoming involved in money laundering activities, members of the public should always reject requests to use their personal bank accounts to receive and transfer money for others.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

The Police are investigating a 17-year-old teenager for his suspected involvement in a series of e-commerce scams.

Between June to October 2022, Police received multiple reports from victims who were purportedly cheated by an online seller who had advertised the sale of online booster accounts for an online game.  Upon expressing their interest to purchase the booster account, victims were told to make payment via Paynow. After payment has been made, the seller became uncontactable.

Through investigations, officers from Woodlands Police Division managed to establish the identity of the teenager on 16 November 2022. Preliminary investigations revealed that the teenager is believed to be involved in at least four cases of online cheating.

Investigations are ongoing. The offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, and a fine.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information related to such scams may call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.