18-year-old charged with scamming Telegram users over Marquee Singapore nightclub tickets

SINGAPORE — An 18-year-old who allegedly cheated buyers into making advance payments for tickets to the popular Marquee Singapore nightclub was charged on Friday (Aug 12).

Alden Christopher Tan Choon Siang, a Singaporean, faces one count of cheating.

In a press release on Thursday night, the police said that they received information on July 31 about the purported scam. The buyers had come across posts in a Telegram chat group called “SG Clubbing”, which advertised the sale of Marquee Singapore tickets.

The tickets were for various nightlife events that were sold out on the official website of Marquee Singapore, which is the biggest nightclub here. Tickets for these events generally start from S$40, its website states.

Marquee Singapore reopened at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands integrated resort on July 1. Before that, nightlife establishments across the island were forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The police said that Tan’s alleged victims were deceived into paying for the tickets in advance. He was arrested on Thursday.

Investigations revealed that Tan is believed to be linked to more than 30 counts of e-commerce scams involving about S$8,500, the police added.

Court documents stated that around July 29, he tricked a woman into delivering S$1,020 to him by lying that he had genuine tickets for an event at the club.

On Friday, he was offered bail of S$15,000. The case was adjourned to Sept 8 for investigations to be completed.

Anyone convicted of cheating can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined. Young offenders aged 21 or below may also be sentenced to probation or reformative training.

The police said that they take a serious view of culprits involved in scams and frauds, and that perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

They advised members of the public to be careful when making online purchases and gave some tips such as buying only from authorised sellers or reputable sources.

“Buying cheap tickets from re-sellers is risky. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.”

The police also suggested that buyers avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers to the sellers, and instead use escrow payment options that protect buyers by releasing payment to the seller only upon delivery, where possible.