Man, 26, to be charged with cheating another man of a watch worth S$35,000

SINGAPORE — A 26-year-old man has been arrested and will be charged on Friday (Feb 11) in an alleged cheating case involving a luxury watch worth S$35,000. 

He is also alleged to have tried to hit a police officer using his car when engaged by officers over this case. 

On Tuesday afternoon (Feb 8), the police received a report of a cheating case where the victim, a 28-year-old man, had made online posts of a luxury watch that he was selling for S$35,000. The suspect replied to the post and the pair later met at Sengkang Square. 

The police said in a statement on Thursday: "After inspecting the victim’s watch, the man decided not to proceed with the purchase and allegedly returned a similar watch to the victim.

"Upon returning home, the victim realised that the man had returned a different watch, bearing a different serial number, which was believed to be a counterfeit." 

Through investigations by the Ang Mo Kio Police Division, Police Operations Command Centre and Police Intelligence Department, the identity of the suspect was established.

On Wednesday at about 3.15pm, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division spotted the 26-year-old suspect in a car near Yishun Ring Road.

When the officers engaged with the man in an open car park and instructed him to step out of the car, he "allegedly ignored the officers’ instructions, attempted to hit an officer using his car and sped off".

"One of the officers managed to move away to avoid being knocked down by the car," the police added. 

Through "extensive ground enquiries", the suspect was spotted along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 later in the day, and the police officers later arrested the man.

He will be charged with cheating and if convicted, can be jailed up to 10 years and fined.
 
The suspect is also being investigated for the offences of rash act and driving while he was banned from doing so.

For committing a rash act, he can be jailed up to six months or fined up to S$2,500, or both. For driving under a ban, he can be jailed up to three years and fined of up S$10,000, or both.