A Chinese national, acting on instructions, brought modified credit cards to Singapore and spent over S$100,000 (about RM309,000) within just three days at four local stores, purchasing luxury items such as Rolex, Chanel, and Hermès. After being wanted by police, he was arrested upon re-entering the country and sentenced to five years and four months in prison.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the accused is a 50-year-old Chinese man, Liu Hesheng (transliteration). He faced eight counts of fraud; on the 8th, he pleaded guilty to three, with the remaining charges considered during sentencing.
At the time of the offence, the accused was living in Pattaya, Thailand. He entered Singapore on January 18 last year and left on January 21 of the same month. The local police later received reports from several shops that American Express (AMEX) had notified them of suspected fraudulent transactions, with cardholders disputing the charges and requesting refunds.
According to the case details, a man nicknamed 'Boss Huang' had earlier handed the accused three bank cards issued by Japanese banks, instructing him to come to Singapore to purchase luxury goods on his behalf. The two had known each other previously; the other party was a regular customer at the accused’s massage parlor in Thailand. Seeking profit, the accused agreed, subsequently receiving the names to be used for card transactions and a forged passport photo.
The Original Card Was Swapped at a Pattaya Spa
Investigations showed that the aforementioned bank cards had been tampered with—the chips on the cards were, in fact, those of stolen AMEX cards. From January 13 to 17 last year, the original card chips were swapped out at a Pattaya spa and embedded into other stolen cards.
The accused entered Singapore with at least three altered bank cards, and used them at four retail stores to buy luxury items, including Rolex watches, Chanel handbags, Cartier bracelets, Prada backpacks, and Hermès accessories, with a total value exceeding S$102,227.
Arrested Upon Re-Entering Singapore the Next Month
As the accused had already left Singapore on January 21 when the reports were received, police subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest. On February 10 last year, when the accused attempted to re-enter, he was arrested at Changi Airport. The involved bank cards had already been discarded and destroyed.
As of July 30 last year, all stolen goods involved in the case had been fully recovered.