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Covid-19: Man charged after allegedly cheating company of almost S$1m by posing as an N95 mask supplier

SINGAPORE — A 35-year-old man allegedly took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to cheat an overseas distribution company of about more than US$646,000 (S$915,000) after pretending that he could supply N95 masks and personal protection gowns.

The police seized two watches and more than S$81,000 in cash when they arrested the suspect on May 26, 2020.

The police seized two watches and more than S$81,000 in cash when they arrested the suspect on May 26, 2020.

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SINGAPORE — A 35-year-old man allegedly took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to cheat an overseas distribution company of about more than US$646,000 (S$915,000) after pretending that he could supply N95 masks and personal protection gowns.

On Thursday (May 28), Chee Jian Rong was hauled to court after the police were alerted to the case a week ago.

The Singaporean was charged with one count of cheating a man — identified as Anthony Bonacci in court documents — on April 30.

Chee is accused of tricking Mr Bonacci into transferring US$251,250 to a bank account as a deposit for 150,000 “Level 2 personal protection gowns”, which were priced at US$502,500 in total. 

Court documents did not give more details on Mr Bonacci or the company.

District Judge Terence Tay ordered Chee to be remanded for a week at the Central Police Division headquarters. He will return to court on June 4.

If convicted of cheating, he could be jailed up to 10 years and fined.

The police said in a news release that Chee will also face money-laundering charges that carry a maximum fine of S$500,000, jail of up to 10 years, or both.

Chee was arrested on Tuesday (May 26) after the company transferred the money to a bank in Singapore but did not get the items and Chee could no longer be contacted. 

When he was nabbed, the authorities seized two watches and more than S$81,000 in cash from him.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Chee had put the payment received from the distributor in several bank accounts here and overseas, the police said.

"Through quick intervention and close collaboration with the three local banks, namely DBS, OCBC and UOB, the police’s Anti-Scam Centre managed to recover more than S$370,000 of the amount scammed. Efforts are underway to trace and recover the remaining monies,” they said.

Related topics

n95 mask PPE cheating courts crime Covid-19 coronavirus

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