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Probation for youth who told strangers sob stories, tricked them into giving money

SINGAPORE — The ruse was straightforward enough: The group of young men would come up to strangers and spin sob stories about needing small amounts of cash urgently, and once they got the money, they would disappear and become uncontactable.

Disilva Jesudoss, 19, was sentenced to 18 months’ supervised probation for his role in a cheating scheme. He was also ordered to perform 150 hours of community service.

Disilva Jesudoss, 19, was sentenced to 18 months’ supervised probation for his role in a cheating scheme. He was also ordered to perform 150 hours of community service.

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SINGAPORE — The ruse was straightforward enough: The group of young men would come up to strangers and spin sob stories about needing small amounts of cash urgently, and once they got the money, they would disappear and become uncontactable.

This way, the group of eight managed to cheat strangers into handing over sums ranging from S$8 to S$50.

On Thursday (June 20), the first of the eight to be dealt with in court — 19-year-old Disilva Jesudoss — was sentenced to 18 months’ supervised probation for his role in the scheme.

He had pleaded guilty last month to two counts of cheating, with another six charges, including trespassing into Fuchun Community Club in Woodlands, taken into consideration for sentencing.

District Judge May Mesenas also ordered him to perform 150 hours of community service, and for his mother to post a bond of S$5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.

HOW HE GOT STARTED

It all began when Disilva got to know Joel Elliot Andrew, 18, and Aravinthan Saravanan, 17, through his brother Shavin Jesudoss.

And through Andrew and Aravinthan, he got to know four other youths, including 18-year-old Daniel Raj Barnabas Ravindran.

The eight of them would meet occasionally to have meals together.

The court heard that on one occasion, Disilva was shocked to see Daniel borrowing money from a stranger.

He asked Daniel if the stranger was a friend, to which Daniel replied: “No lah, this one is business. You don’t know lah, you small boy.”

Disilva later learned that Daniel and Andrew would take money from strangers by telling them pitiful stories and promising to repay them, without actually intending to.

The young men would gain the trust of their victims by giving them their mobile phone numbers. But once they had gotten the cash they sought, they would become uncontactable.  

They spent their ill-gotten gains on food, alcohol and cigarettes.

Over time, six other youths, including Disilva, Shavin and Aravinthan, agreed to join them in the cheating scheme.

Daniel coached them on what to say to potential victims, and they split their collective lucre amongst themselves at the end of the day.

SOB STORIES

In one of the instances, on May 30 last year, Joel, Disilva and another teen were riding e-scooters near Woodlands Avenue 5 when they approached a pedestrian and asked her if she could exchange notes with them.

Joel then cut in to add that he needed the money to take a taxi to visit a loved one in hospital.

The lady gave them S$50, which they took without giving her any notes in exchange.

About a month later, Daniel used the same trick on another victim who gave him S$50, also around Woodlands Avenue 5.

Court documents show that five other victims handed over sums ranging from S$8 to S$20.

On one of these occasions, Disilva approached a teen and asked if he had change for a S$10 note.

When his victim turned out to have only four S$2 notes, Disilva changed his story, saying he needed cash to pay for a friend’s Grab ride, and pocketed the S$8.

In sentencing Disilva, Judge Mesenas warned him to stick to his conditions of probation, which include remaining indoors from 10pm to 6am, or he would be hauled back to court and possibly sent to reformative training — a regimented rehabilitation programme for offenders under the age of 21 who commit relatively serious crimes.

Related topics

court crime cheating

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