Woman arrested for alleged cheating, forging vet bill to solicit donations for stray cat

SINGAPORE — A 20-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of cheating and forging a stray cat's medical bill in order to solicit donations.

The police said they received a report on Tuesday (Nov 16) claiming that a woman was crowdfunding on social media.

"It was later discovered that there was purportedly no such cat being treated," said the police in a media release on Wednesday.

"The woman had also allegedly forged a receipt to make it seem like there were medical bills paid for the stray cat."

Preliminary investigations showed that about 60 people had made donations in response to the woman's crowdfunding effort. 

A 20-year-old man is also assisting with investigations, said the police.

Those convicted of cheating can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined, or both.

"SEVERAL DISCREPANCIES"

According to a member of Facebook group Sayang Our Singapore's Community Cats, the crowdfunding appeal was made by a user named Nora Nur.

Calling it a scam, the member posted screenshots of Nora Nur's post, which sought donations for a cat named Gogi. There were photos of a cat and a receipt of a medical bill purportedly from Frankel Veterinary Centre.

The group member said she contacted Frankel Veterinary Centre, which said in an email reply that there were "several discrepancies that raise concerns on the authenticity of the receipt, suggesting a fraudulent attempt to enlist our services that were never performed by us".

In a Facebook update, Nora Nur said Gogi is in Vietnam, not Singapore.

She admitted that the Singapore vet bill was a "lie", but that the cat was ill and is undergoing treatment in Vietnam.

Nora Nur apologised and said donors can contact her to get their money back. CNA

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