Jail for woman who acted as child deity to ‘cruelly’ cheat her mother's friend of her life savings

• Soh Chih Hui’s victim testified that she handed over money so that Soh could find a husband for her
• Soh appeared to the other woman as deities, saying she needed to “borrow fate” and give away money
• When the victim ran out of money, she begged her brother to lend her some
• A judge rejected probation for her, noting that she has not shown any genuine remorse to date

SINGAPORE — When she was just a teenager, Soh Chih Hui took advantage of her mother’s friend’s superstitious beliefs, pretending to be a child deity in order to trick her into handing over all of her savings.

Soh, then around 17 years old, told Madam Goh Seng Mui, 56, that she had found a potential husband for her.

Over a period of six months in 2015, Mdm Goh gave Soh at least S$49,600.

This included an insurance payout of more than S$17,000 and S$19,000 that she had begged her brother to lend her.

On Monday (June 7), Soh, now 23, was sentenced to one year and three months’ jail. She had been found guilty of a cheating charge after a trial last year.

She was also ordered to compensate the victim with the amount cheated, or serve two more weeks behind bars.

She will begin serving her sentence on July 5, and remains out on bail of S$15,000.

While Soh was aged between 17 and 18 at the time of her offences, District Judge Carol Ling rejected her lawyer’s submissions for probation, which is typically offered to offenders aged 21 or below.

The judge noted that up till recently, Soh continued denying her offences and has not expressed any regret or contrition for what she did to Mdm Goh. She has also not made any restitution.

“She preyed and exploited on (Mdm Goh)’s naivety, gullibility and superstitious nature. She cruelly capitalised on the victim’s need for love and companionship… Overall, I found the extent of her deceiving and cheating to be unconscionable,” District Judge Ling told the court.

Mdm Goh, an odd job worker, is a primary school friend of Soh’s mother who worked for Soh’s father at a hawker stall in Tampines, the court earlier heard. 

She also frequently went over to Soh’s place to chat with her and her mother, telling them that she was single and lived alone.

ASKED MDM GOH TO SELL HDB FLAT

Soh told Mdm Goh that she could introduce her to her future husband, supposedly a 51-year-old bank employee. 

She also told Mdm Goh that she could not find a husband because she was “not fated” to be with a man and that she needed to “borrow fate”. 

This involved giving Soh cash to buy makeup and cosmetics, branded shoes and clothing, as well as to chant prayers, do rituals and make offerings.

When Soh demanded money, she appeared to Mdm Goh as a child deity, speaking in a high-pitched and child-like voice.

She spoke in a low voice and appeared as another deity named “Fu Wang” on other occasions.

She eventually asked Mdm Goh to sell her Housing and Development Board flat, though the older woman ultimately did not hand over the proceeds of the sale to Soh.

Mdm Goh testified that she was “very frightened” of Soh and she handed over whatever she asked for. 

She also told the court that she suffered great stress and anxiety, even thinking of committing suicide.

‘CUNNING, SCHEMING, MANIPULATIVE’

After Soh was convicted, District Judge Ling called for reports to assess if she was suitable for probation.

District Judge Ling noted that according to the report, any remorse that Soh showed was “in tandem with the personal consequences of her actions rather than in recognition of the harm she caused”.

Soh's lawyer Peter Fernando had said that she could not make restitution as she was a hawker assistant and had no money, but the judge said that in the probation report, Soh and her husband reported being financially stable and able to support themselves.

There was also “no good evidence” that she had reflected on her actions over the years and she still possesses “poor moral reasoning, risk-taking tendencies” and is “susceptible to the lure of easy money and lack of self-control”, the judge said.

“The manner in which she cheated the victim, treating her as a personal ATM as the prosecution puts it, wholly reflects a cunning, scheming and manipulative mind that merits a custodial term.

“I agreed with the prosecution that she was motivated by greed, not for school or family… she used the money on non-essential activities such as prawning,” District Judge Ling added.

While Soh was convicted of cheating Mdm Goh of at least S$49,600 on at least six occasions, the judge said that considering the evidence produced in court, “it is not without basis for me to say that the amount of money and number of occasions she was deceived are conservative”.

Even though the offences took place six years ago, the judge ruled that Soh was not prejudiced by the lengthy proceedings as extensive investigations and a trial had to be conducted.

Nevertheless, the judge took into account Soh’s young age at the time of the offences in sentencing her.

For cheating, she could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that Madam Goh gave Soh an insurance payout of more than S$47,000. This is incorrect. The insurance payout was more than S$17,000. We are sorry for the error.