SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man who owed loan sharks money due to his online gambling habits turned to working for a scam syndicate, obtaining bank accounts and Singpass details.
He was linked to a variety of scams involving about S$151,500 from 36 victims.
He fled to Malaysia but was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police in Johor Bahru for working as an intermediary for the scam syndicate and handed back to Singapore authorities.
Muhammad Tarmidzi Tahir, 34, was sentenced to six years and four months’ jail on Thursday (Apr 13).
He pleaded guilty to four charges including cheating, retaining benefits from criminal conduct and helping other scammers get unauthorised access to a bank account.
Another three charges were taken into consideration.
The court heard that Tarmidzi was in debt to loan sharks since 2020. He spoke to a man known only as Alex and asked how he could reduce the debt he owed.
Tarmidzi agreed to procure bank accounts and Singpass details for Alex to reduce his debts and make money.
For a year from November 2021, Tarmidzi looked for people in Malaysia and Singapore who would provide their bank accounts and Singpass details.
HOW HE GOT THE ACCOUNTS
He did so by posting template messages on Telegram, offering fast cash for the sale of bank and Singpass accounts.
A bank account could fetch S$1,000 to S$1,500, while a Singpass account drew S$2,000. If anyone asked what their details would be used for, Tarmidzi would say they were for tourist visa applications or remittance purposes.
Tarmidzi referred seven people to Alex in this manner. He would create a bank account using the Singpass details on Alex’s instructions, and was told by Alex that five or six bank accounts could be opened using a single Singpass account.
Tarmidzi was also tasked with testing the validity of the bank account by making small transfers.
For each person he successfully obtained Singpass or bank account details from, Tarmidzi would get paid between S$100 and S$200. This amount would either go towards offsetting his debts, or be given to him as “coffee money”.
The bank accounts that were opened were used to receive transfers totalling S$151,509 from 36 victims of different scams.
Tarmidzi also opened a Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad (CIMB) account, which was used by the syndicate to receive money from 14 victims of job scams. A total of about S$176,000 was received in this account.
FLED TO MALAYSIA
On Aug 14, 2022, Tarmidzi fled to Johor Bahru, Malaysia. A Police Gazette was issued against him shortly after.
Three months later, the Royal Malaysia Police arrested him in an apartment complex in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru.
The police’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department had discovered that Tarmidzi worked as an intermediary for a syndicate operating in Singapore.
The police contacted the Anti-Scam Command of the Singapore Police Force’s Commercial Affairs Department and later extradited Tarmidzi back to Singapore, where he was remanded from Nov 18, 2022.
The police were unable to identify Alex and members of his syndicate.
Tarmidzi also admitted to dealing with contraband cigarettes, worth S$1.28 million in unpaid excise duty.
The prosecution asked for 44 to 47 months’ jail for the scam-related charges, with another 34 to 36 months’ jail for the contraband charge.
The prosecutor said Tarmidzi’s cheating of CIMB meant that a syndicate gained access to his CIMB account, through which funds from victims amounting to S$176,067 flowed.
Tarmidzi had known that the account would be used for an illegal purpose, and his handing over the account to the syndicate added an additional layer through which funds from victims could be laundered.
This also increased the difficulty of apprehending members of the syndicate, said the prosecutor.
The offences must be met with the full force of the law given the increasing prevalence of scams in Singapore, said the prosecution.