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South Korean suspect nabbed after tricking store, telcos to get S$100,000 worth of gadgets

SINGAPORE — For more than a month, a 36-year-old South Korean man allegedly went on a cheating spree in Singapore, looting more than 60 Apple products and other electronic devices worth close to S$100,000 by using bogus email addresses and fake identities.

The police recovered more than S$73,500 in cash, believed to be proceeds from selling a bulk of the electronic goods, and several devices including a mobile phone, a MacBook and a Microsoft Surface Pro.

The police recovered more than S$73,500 in cash, believed to be proceeds from selling a bulk of the electronic goods, and several devices including a mobile phone, a MacBook and a Microsoft Surface Pro.

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SINGAPORE — For more than a month, a 36-year-old South Korean man allegedly went on a cheating spree in Singapore, looting more than 60 Apple products and other electronic devices worth close to S$100,000 by using bogus email addresses and fake identities.

He is also said to have forged work passes and company letters to get mobile services and handsets from two telecommunications companies here.

On Thursday (May 3), he was arrested by police officers at Marriott Tang Plaza at about 11.30pm, after receiving information that he had checked into a hotel room there earlier in the afternoon.

At a media briefing on Friday, police said that the man — whose identity was not disclosed but has been in Singapore for more than three years on an employment pass — will be charged with cheating on Saturday.

In the hotel room, they recovered more than S$73,500 in cash — believed to be proceeds from selling a bulk of the electronic goods — and several devices including a mobile phone, a MacBook and a Microsoft Surface Pro.

They also found four forged company stamps, two pocket knives and controlled drugs.

On March 20 this year, the suspect allegedly made up an email address and pretended to be a staff member from a pre-school. Over two weeks, he ordered 18 iPads, 16 Macbooks, four iMacs, three sets of iPhone X and other electronic items such as Sonos speakers and Olympus cameras from a retailer.

On the pretext that the school term had already begun, he asked for the products to be picked up urgently by a deliveryman, promising credit payment at a later date.

The store then allowed the courier to collect the products at its outlets in Parkway Parade and VivoCity between March 27 and 29.

After realising that the man had defaulted on his payments, an employee from the retailer then reported the case on April 5.

In two other cases, where the man applied to get mobile services and handsets from two telcos, the companies approved the online applications and he similarly engaged couriers to collect the mobile phones at their outlets.

The telcos — which TODAY understands to be StarHub and Singtel — later made police reports between April 20 and 24.

During the media briefing on Friday, Assistant Commissioner of Police Tan Chia Han of the Tanglin Division said that his officers managed to locate the man with the help of security camera footages and extensive ground enquiries.

This included going through the documents submitted in the online applications for the mobile service plans.

Based on the amount of money recovered, this is one of the more significant cases of cheating in the recent years, he added.

It is unclear whether the man is part of a syndicate and why he had checked into a hotel. Police investigations are still ongoing.

If found guilty, he could be fined and jailed up to 10 years.

In February, a 24-year-old man was arrested in a similar cheating case, where he pocketed five smartphones worth S$5,000 by forging applications for mobile phone services.

The police urged companies to be vigilant against sudden changes in their suppliers’ or creditors’ payment instructions and accounts. When in doubt, they should check directly with these vendors.

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