SINGAPORE: In a bid to settle their gambling and mortgage shark debts, a guy bought counterfeit Rolex watches and pawned them for more compared to 20 times the cost he paid for all of them.
After successfully pledging a fake Rolex Submariner timepiece to a pawn shop for S$18, 500, the man returned to the shop to pawn another watch plus got a friend in order to pawn a third view before being captured.
Aw Poh Seng, 33, pleaded guilty on Mon (Sep 19) in order to two counts associated with cheating and a 3rd unrelated charge of carrying a stun gun at a health and fitness corner in Yishun. Three other fees will be considered in sentencing.
The court heard that will Aw had racked up debts in July 2021 due to loans he got from unlicensed moneylenders as well as gambling financial obligations.
He prepared to deceive pawn shops by buying fake Rolex watches and pledging them on the shops in exchange for money. He looked meant for suppliers for counterfeit watches that bore very close similarities to the real deal and managed to find one.
He bought 2 counterfeit Rolex watches for S$800 and S$850. On Jul 15, 2021, Aw went to a pawn shop in Marsiling to pledge one of the timepieces. He presented the Rolex Submariner fake to an worker at the shop and claimed it was authentic.
The employee asked for a certification of authenticity, yet Aw claimed he had lost it. The particular employee was deceived and accepted the particular watch, giving Aw S$18, 000 in return.
Aw also pawned a Rolex Deep Sea Dweller fake watch for S$16, 500 at the same shop that day.
After receiving a total of S$34, five hundred for the two reproductions, Aw grew emboldened and decided to be a cheater the shop again the next day, said the prosecutor.
Nevertheless , he feared the particular shop would grow suspicious if he or she brought a third watch, so he asked a friend to help your pet. His friend agreed and took one more Rolex Submariner bogus to the same shop on Jul sixteen, 2021, where he pledged it for S$18, 000.
Re: went to a gold shop to buy gold with the cash afterwards. The pawn store caught wind of the scam and a law enforcement report was filed days later. Aw’s friend was also nabbed. He pleaded guilty to his participation and was sentenced in February this season.
When Re: was arrested, the gold amulet plus a gold chain had been seized from him, along with S$4, 300 in cash. The particular pawn shop was willing to accept the gold and money worth about S$31, 700 in total as restitution.
No restitution was created for the remainder of the loss suffered of about S$20, 000.
The particular court heard that will Aw had convictions dating back to 2002, when he had been convicted of theft as a young man and put on probation. He breached his probation plus was later found guilty of other offences including robbery with hurt and rioting, receiving jail terms and caning for different offences.
The prosecutor sought a total of 10 months’ jail and a fine of S$3, 1000, saying that Aw’s offences were clearly premeditated and planned. Aw also roped in an accomplice, said the particular prosecutor.
The defence asked for the slightly lower jail term, saying that their client was remorseful and has a family with three young children.
The judge adjourned sentencing to the following month.