SINGAPORE: A mechanic cheated his friend into handing over more than S$22,000 (US$16,500) by lying to him that he could buy a heavily discounted Mercedes-Benz car for S$140,000, inclusive of Certificate of Entitlement (COE).
Tai Boon Huat, 48, was sentenced to eight months’ jail on Tuesday (Nov 28) for one count of cheating.
A second charge was taken into consideration as part of his guilty plea.
The court heard that Tai befriended the victim, a 43-year-old man, in early 2019.
At the time, the victim was considering investing in property.
The pair became friends and shortlisted and viewed property together.
In 2020, Tai told the victim that his company could buy Mercedes-Benz cars in bulk from Cycle & Carriage.
He told the victim that he could help buy one at a heavily discounted price from parallel importers.
This was a lie – Tai had no links to Cycle & Carriage, and he could not procure a Mercedes-Benz car at a discounted price.
At first, the victim was not keen on the idea, but Tai persuaded him until he agreed.
They agreed on a price of S$140,000 for a CLA 200 Mercedes-Benz, including COE and other taxes.
After the victim agreed to buy the car, Tai asked him to make payments to his bank account for additional fees such as administrative fees.
The victim complied and transferred a total of S$22,487 to Tai over 22 occasions between March 2020 and February 2021.
However, the victim did not receive the car. He lodged a police report in March 2022, saying he had been cheated.
Tai was arrested in May 2023 and has not made restitution to date.
The penalties for cheating are a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.