29-year-old Chinese national Zhang Haibo, was sentenced to 15 weeks imprisonment on 14 October after pleading guilty to 2 counts of voyeurism and possessing a voyeuristic recording, with another charge being considered during his sentencing.

He had bought a pair of spectacles that had a pinhole camera and video recording function and used it to record his female housemates in the shower.

What happened?

Zhang, who lives in a residence with other Chinese nationals, searched online for a “spy camera” in August 2021 because he wanted to make recordings in the unit’s common toilet.

He then purchased a pair of black spectacles that had a pinhole camera in them with a video recording function and a memory card inside the glasses that could store footage, for $40.

He then placed the spectacles on a metal rack above the sink of the residence’s common toilet on 27 August 2021, adjusting the camera to face the shower area, intending to film the female tenants showering.

on 28 August, one of the female tenants entered the toilet and undressed while beginning to shower when she noticed the glasses on the rack.

She felt suspicious as she didn’t see the galsses before and examined it before realising that there was a blinking red light.

She then informed her landlord about the spectacles and the landlord then questioned all the tenants about the device, and Zhang didn’t admit to what he did at the time.

The woman then reported the incident to the police along with another female tenant because she was worried there were other videos recorded.

Zhang was then arrested on the same day, with several of his devices being seized by the police, who found a video of a woman’s backside that was filmed with Zhang’s phone inside his laptop.

Images source: 3Tech mall on Lazada and Unsplash (Images used for illustration purposes only and are not related to the case)

POLICE INVESTIGATE 339 SCAMMERS AND MONEY MULES IN ISLAND-WIDE ENFORCEMENT OPERATION

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven Police Land Divisions conducted a two-week operation between 30 September and 13 October 2022. A total of 227 men and 112 women, aged between 15 and 73, are assisting in investigations for their suspected involvement in scams as scammers or money mules.

The suspects are believed to be involved in more than 1,002 cases of scams, comprising mainly job scams, loan scams, internet love scams, phishing scams and Government and China Officials impersonation scams, where victims reportedly lost over $14.9 million.

The suspects are being investigated for the alleged offences of cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence.

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

The offence of money laundering under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.

The offence of carrying on a business to provide any type of payment service in Singapore without a licence under Section 5 of the Payment Services Act 2019 carries a fine of up to $125,000, an imprisonment term of up to three years, 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. To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use your bank account or mobile lines as you will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
14 October 2022 @ 11:10 AM

The Police have arrested a 25-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a series of e-commerce scams, involving the purported sale of fake Rolex watches.

Between May and October 2022, the Police received several reports from victims who were purportedly cheated by an online seller, who had allegedly advertised the sale of Rolex watches via Facebook Marketplace. The man was believed to have met with the victims and handed over fake Rolex watches upon receiving their payments via PayNow.

Through investigations, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on 13 October 2022. Preliminary investigations revealed that the man is believed to be involved in other similar cases with losses amounting to more than $88,000.

The man will be charged in court on 15 October 2022 with cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence of cheating carries an imprisonment term of up to ten years and a fine.

The Police would like to advise members of the public to take the following precautions when making online purchases:

1. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Purchase only from authorised sellers or reputable sources, especially for high-value items.
   
2. Opt for buyer protection by using in-built payment options that release payment to the seller only upon delivery, so that you can verify the authenticity of the item sold first. Whenever possible, avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers to the seller as this method does not offer any protection.
   
3. Scammers may entice buyers to contact them directly through messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or WeChat by offering a better or faster deal if bank transfer payments are made directly to them. They may also use a local bank account or provide a copy of a NRIC/driver’s license to make you believe that they are genuine sellers. Do not fall for it!

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit 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.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
14 October 2022 @ 12:45 PM

46-year-old former insurance agent Fong Poh Kuen, was charged with illegally obtaining the personal information of a school girl in January 2020.

He had allegedly gotten the schoolgirl’s (who cannot be named due to a court order protecting her identity) name, birthdate and phone number along a walkway between a school and Buona Vista MRT.

He was denied bail on 14 October after being deemed “extremely high risk of re-offending”.

The court heard on Friday that the police have uncovered new victims according to further investigations, and he could face 10 more charges.

Fong has reportedly been in remand since 2 September, and was denied bail due to his high risk of reoffending.

He is set to return to court on 11 November, and faces a jail term of up to 3 years and/or fined up to $10,000 for illegally obtaining personal information.

Malaysia is set to continue pursuing legal action over Pedra Branca, which was awarded to Singapore back in 2008.

The Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded by saying that we will “robustly defend our sovereignty over Pedra Branca”.

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a statement on Thursday (13 October) that his Cabinet had received certain recommendations from a special task force, according to The Star.

Among the recommendations was for the Malaysian government to proceed with legal action over Pedra Branca, the Middle Rocks and South Ledge, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Malaysian task force also suggested the government take “appropriate action” to protect Malaysia’s sovereignty.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ response

In response to media queries, the MFA Spokesperson said:  

“Singapore has noted Malaysia’s press release that Malaysia intends to continue legal action in the International Court of Justice (the Court) on the issue of sovereignty over Pedra Branca. In 2008, the Court awarded sovereignty over Pedra Branca to Singapore in the Case concerning Sovereignty over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. After the Court’s decision, both Singapore and Malaysia publicly announced that they will accept and abide by the Court’s decision which is final.

In 2017, Malaysia instituted an application for revision and a request for interpretation of the Court’s 2008 decision, which were subsequently withdrawn by Malaysia in 2018. Under the Statute of the Court, an application for revision cannot be made after the expiry of ten years from the date of the Court’s 2008 judgment (i.e., May 2018).

Singapore is unable to comment on Malaysia’s latest intentions since no details have been shared. Singapore stands ready to robustly defend our sovereignty over Pedra Branca and will deal with whatever legal action Malaysia may pursue.”

.    .    .    .    .

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

14 OCTOBER 2022

$1.5 billion Support Package to Provide Further Relief for All Singaporean Households with more support for Lower- to Middle-Income Groups

14 Oct 2022

1. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong has announced a $1.5 billion support package. This will provide further cost of living relief for all Singaporean households, with more support for lower- to middle-income groups. This builds on the support measures announced in Budget 2022, April 2022 and June 2022. The package will be funded from the better-than-expected fiscal out-turn in the first half of FY2022. Omicron was milder than expected, and more sectors of the economy had opened up in tandem, boosting economic recovery. There will be no draw on Past Reserves for this support package. 

Global Inflation

2. The Government has rolled out a comprehensive set of measures since the start of this year, to help Singaporeans cope with higher inflation and cost of living concerns.  

3. Anticipating rising prices, the Government introduced measures in Budget 2022 to cushion the impact to Singaporeans. In April 2022, we also brought forward some of the Budget measures, such as the disbursement of the Community Development Council (CDC) Vouchers to all Singaporean households and the Small Business Recovery Grant for SMEs. In June 2022, in response to the sharper than expected rise in global inflation, we rolled out a $1.5 billion support package to provide immediate and targeted relief for the lower-income and more vulnerable groups. This included the one-off GST Voucher – Special Payment of up to $300 cash for lower- to middle-income Singaporeans and the one-off $100 Household Utilities Credit for all Singaporean households. 

4. Since then, inflation has picked up further globally. While supply chain frictions have eased slightly, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to put pressure on commodity prices. As a small, open economy, Singapore is particularly susceptible to imported price pressures, through channels such as food and energy. Domestically, a tight labour market continues to support strong wage growth. As such, we must be prepared for inflation to stay elevated for some time. 

$1.5 billion Support Package

5.  In light of the continued challenging environment, the Government will provide an additional $1.5 billion support package to provide further relief for all Singaporean households, with more support for lower- to middle-income groups. This includes a cost-of-living (COL) Special Payment of up to $500 cash for 2.5 million adult Singaporeans.

6. This new $1.5 billion support package, together with earlier rounds of support measures rolled out this year, will fully cover the increase in cost of living for lower-income households on average, and more than half of the increase in cost of living for middle-income households on average this year. More details can be found in the “Estimating the Effects of Cost-of-Living Support Measures in 2022

Issued by:

Ministry of Finance

Singapore

14 Oct 2022