SINGAPORE – Four Chinese nationals who came to Singapore to commit fraud worked together to dupe a 60-year-old woman into handing one of them $700 in cash and a gold necklace for a “ritual cleanse”.
After the “ritual”, the victim was handed a bag that purportedly contained the valuables, only to find it contained leaves.
The four offenders worked together again to trick a 75-year-old woman, who was deceived into allowing one of them to handle her red packet, which contained $200 in cash.
They also stole from her an envelope containing another $500, the court heard.
The woman was handed a plastic bag that purportedly contained the red packet, but when she opened it later, she found that it contained only vegetables.
On Sept 11, Huang Qinyan, 48; Huang Meiling, 57; Zhong Weifeng, 58 and Huang Ximing, 61, each pleaded guilty to two counts of cheating.
Huang Ximing is the only man among the offenders.
The group’s ill-gotten gains were recovered during their arrest.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugene Phua told the court that they arrived in Singapore from Malaysia through the Woodlands Checkpoint on May 30 and shared a room in a Meyer Place apartment near Mountbatten Road.
On June 2, the 60-year-old victim was at a Chinatown taxi stand when Zhong approached her, claiming to seek directions to a Chinese physician who could “cure all kinds of illnesses”.
When the victim, identified in court documents as V1, replied that she did not know such a person, Zhong held on to her and pestered the woman to help her find one.
Huang Meiling, who was nearby, stepped in and said that she knew one such physician.
The three women went to the nearby Hong Lim Park to meet Huang Qinyan, who pretended to be the physician.
Huang Qinyan later said that V1 was “experiencing misfortune due to negative spiritual elements”.
She then proposed a “ritual cleanse” in which V1 had to hand over her valuables, claiming that they would be returned upon its completion.
DPP Phua said: “As V1 was in a confused state and worried, V1 agreed to meet (Huang Qinyan) again at Hong Lim Park on the same day at 6pm for the ritual cleanse
“V1 left to withdraw money from an ATM for the purpose of the ritual. V1 withdrew all her money from her bank.”
Huang Ximing, who was acting as a lookout for his accomplices, followed her when she returned to the park later that day.
Huang Qinyan then placed V1’s $700 and gold necklace inside a black plastic bag to perform the so-called cleansing.
She later handed a bag to the victim, telling her to leave it unopen for a month.
V1 alerted the police when she found her cash and necklace missing after she opened the bag the next day.
On June 3, the second victim, identified as V2, went to a bank in Clementi to withdraw $500, which was placed inside an envelope.
She placed the envelope in her bag, which also contained $200 in a red packet.
Huang Meiling later approached V2 to ask for directions and the pair started chatting.
The two women then sat on a bench near Block 451, Clementi Avenue 3, and Huang Qinyan joined them soon after.
Meanwhile, Huang Ximing and Zhong acted as lookouts nearby.
The DPP told the court: “(Huang Qinyan) then told V2 about the importance of keeping her valuables properly and took out the red packet containing $200 from V2’s bag.
“(Huang Qinyan) then took out a black plastic bag and told V2 that it would be better to keep the red packet in the said plastic bag.”
Huang Qinyan then tied the plastic bag and handed it to V2. Somehow, the offenders also managed to steal her envelope containing the $500.
V2, who found the red packet and envelope missing when she reached home, lodged a police report on June 4.
Officers arrested all four offenders at the Meyer Place apartment the next day. They will be sentenced on Sept 17.
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
Singapore courtsCrimeCheating
