49-year-old serial cheat duped teen girls into sex by offering cash, tricked 10 victims of S$72,000

SINGAPORE — Shortly after he was released from prison for cheating offences, Tan Chip Huat went back to tricking young women into having unprotected sex with him by promising cash that he never gave them.

The unemployed man approached his victims on online classified advertisements site Locanto, giving a false impression that he was rich and offering to pay a 23-year-old freelance social escort S$6,000 a month for her to be his “sugar baby”.

Another victim, a 17-year-old who was a single mother, had sex with him after he offered her S$1,000.

From January to August 2021, Tan managed to cheat 10 victims of about S$72,000 before he was remanded.

On Monday (July 25), the 49-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty to one charge each of harassment and criminal intimidation, as well as five cheating charges in relation to S$46,000.

Another 13 similar charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing next month.

District Judge Shawn Ho called for a report to assess his suitability for corrective training — a harsher form of imprisonment where offenders are unlikely to be given early release for factors such as good behaviour.

It would not be his first time undergoing corrective training, having been sentenced to a seven-year stint in 2013. He had cheated 14 victims of nearly S$125,000, similarly posting advertisements online and making them think he was rich.

He committed his latest offences within less than a year of being released.

In 2005, he was jailed eight years for cheating, forgery and theft offences. He was also fined S$5,000 in 1999 for theft.

LOOKING FOR 'SUGAR GIRLFRIEND'

The court heard that in January last year, a 17-year-old girl — identified as V3 — responded to Tan’s post on Locanto looking for a long-term “sugar girlfriend”. She needed help with her school fees.

He offered her S$5,000 even though he knew he could not provide such a high allowance, being jobless at the time. He had earlier worked as a cleaner in a mall and earned less than S$2,000 a month.

V3 said that Tan told her he was working in the finance industry, lived in a condominium unit and earned about S$50,000 to S$60,000 a month.

He also claimed that he would pay for his ex-girlfriends’ expenses and buy them expensive gifts, and said that he had bought her a Chopard necklace.

He told her that he was willing to sponsor S$20,000 for her tuition fees at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in exchange for her sexual services.

When she said that she could not make it for a staycation, he said that he was calling off the deal. She then agreed to head over to D’Hotel along Outram Road, where he had earlier booked a room so that she did not need to check in at the reception area.

She rejected his sexual advances because she was menstruating, but he then reminded her that he was paying for her school fees.

She gave in and they had unprotected sex, despite her saying before that she would only have protected sex.

When they left the hotel, Tan said that he would pay her half of the S$20,000 he had promised, so that he had more spare cash on hand. He added that he had already performed a future transfer of the remaining S$10,000 to her.

She then agreed to lend him S$400 so that he could purportedly help a friend.

When Jan 10 rolled around and the girl did not get S$10,000, Tan claimed that the transfer was set for the following day. He then said that he would write a cheque instead.

He continued giving excuses and never paid the girl.

THREATENED TO EXPOSE FRIEND

After this encounter, Tan kept asking V3 to meet but she said that she was not available. He then suggested that she introduce her friends to him for company instead, saying he was willing to pay S$800 to S$1,000 for one night of sexual services.

One evening, he shouted at her over the phone and threatened to expose one of her close friends — identified as V5, also aged 17 — to the police because he knew that she worked as a social escort.

This was unless V3 agreed to ask V5 to lend S$500 to him.

Afraid of the repercussions her friend could face, V3 transferred S$500 to Tan without telling the other girl.

Tan promised to return her the sum along with the S$10,000 he had earlier offered. He never did.

Later that same day, V3 got another 17-year-old friend — identified as V4 — to meet Tan for sex in exchange for S$1,000.

V4 was worried that Tan did not want to use a condom, but relented because she was a single mother who needed money to care for her nine-month-old infant son.

She then confronted Tan when she did not receive her money after three days. He told her that he would pay her S$100 more to compensate for the delay.

When she complained to V3, V3 transferred to her S$1,100 that she had gotten from her father, thinking that Tan would reimburse her.

On the evening of Jan 20, Tan found out about the transfer and got V3 to call V4. He told V4 that he would pay her in due course and not to take money from her friend.

He spoke to V4 in a loud and threatening manner, demanding that she return the money to V3 or he would look up her address and beat her and her child.

The next day, Tan was arrested. Court documents did not state if he was released on bail, but he continued his cheating spree with other victims.

In all, V3 introduced four friends to Tan at his request. He did not verify their ages and did not ask to see their identification cards.

He also borrowed at least S$2,500 in all from V3, and owed the three 17-year-old girls a total of S$24,000 in exchange for their sexual services.

TWO OTHER VICTIMS

An older victim, aged 25, got to know Tan through the e-classifieds site Locanto in May last year. They were both looking for casual sex and met every two to three days.

Tan said that he was working in the finance industry handling high-end clients and boasted that he had a personal chauffeur.

He offered to settle the 25-year-old's credit card debts of about S$5,000 and showed her a screenshot of a S$77,000 bank transfer he had purportedly made to her account.

He told her that he was bad at managing his finances and wanted her to safe-keep the money for him after using part of the sum to settle her debts. She believed him.

He then borrowed money from her and used her credit card to make several purchases, including iPhones that he resold for profits. This caused her to lose nearly S$12,000.

She lent him the credit card because she believed that she could recover his expenses from the S$77,000 sum he had promised.

When the victim realised that the S$77,000 sum never arrived, Tan claimed that his company was having an audit and the money would arrive soon.

He then wrote her two cheques that bounced, before sending her an image of a nurse in a hospital and claiming that he had been hospitalised.

However, she found the same image on a website. She also searched his name online and found out about his past convictions.

When she confronted him, he lied that he was waiting for a payment for the jail time he had served.

She eventually filed a police report.

Tan found another victim, a 23-year-old full-time wedding planner who had worked as a freelance social escort since she was 19, through her advertisements on Locanto and the Telegram mobile application.

He offered her S$6,000 a month for her to be his “sugar baby”, telling her that he was in his 30s and worked in a family business.

On July 5 last year, they discussed having a long-term sexual relationship over dinner at the upscale Fullerton Hotel before going to Fragrance Hotel in the Lavender Street area for sex.

The next day, she tried to deposit his cheque for S$10,000 but it bounced.

After negotiating with him through Project X, an organisation that provides assistance to sex workers, they compromised on S$3,500. However, his cheque for that amount bounced again even after he promised it would not.

He later apologised and sent her a screenshot of his bank account with a balance of S$9.54. He continued giving excuses before she made a police report.

For each offence of cheating or obtaining services dishonestly or fraudulently, Tan could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

For harassment, he could be jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$5,000, or punished with both.

He could also be jailed for up to two years or fined, or both, for criminal intimidation.