In a distressing turn of events driven by financial desperation, a 31-year-old Malaysian woman, Jayanthi Subramaniam, has been sentenced to six weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to a charge of cheating.
The incident unfolded when she tricked a friend she met on TikTok, Mr. Rajappan Balakrishnan, into paying S$5,000 to secure non-existent jobs for two foreign workers at DHL Singapore, according to TODAY.
The Deceptive Scheme
Jayanthi, at the time employed by a cleaning company and deployed to work at DHL Singapore, capitalized on her position to concoct a fraudulent plan. Facing financial difficulties and unable to repay her loans, she devised a scheme to exploit her friend’s trust.
In August, she contacted Mr. Rajappan, an India national, claiming that she had job opportunities at DHL Singapore for foreign workers. Despite not working for DHL and the jobs being non-existent, Jayanthi offered to submit work pass applications for these fictional positions.
The Convince and Con
To convince Mr. Rajappan of the legitimacy of the opportunity, Jayanthi went to great lengths. She sent photographs and videos of DHL’s premises, creating an illusion of authenticity. Despite initial suspicion due to the high requested amount of S$5,000 for each worker, Jayanthi managed to persuade Mr. Rajappan by reducing the sum to S$2,500 as a deposit for each person.
Believing in the authenticity of the job offers, Mr. Rajappan sought his friend’s help to transfer S$5,000 into Jayanthi’s account. However, suspicions arose when Jayanthi, after the transfer, began asking for more money without providing any formal documentation related to the job opportunities.
The Unraveling and Legal Action
Realizing the deception, Mr. Rajappan filed a police report on October 1, leading to Jayanthi’s arrest three days later. Unfortunately, the S$5,000 was not recovered, as Jayanthi had utilized the funds to repay her debts and cover personal expenses, including her mother’s medical bills.
During the court proceedings, Jayanthi, emotionally distressed, pleaded for forgiveness, attributing her actions to the dire financial situation related to her mother’s medical expenses. She made a full restitution on December 4.