SINGAPORE: Two gentlemen from China who were high school classmates, became aware of the possibility to make money in Singapore by purchasing expensive items like smartphones with their credit cards from different people.
Both people were taken to court and charged with conspiring to steal, despite the fact that they initially backed away before doing the heinous payments themselves.
On Friday ( Dec. 20 ), Li Xueqi and Xu Zhaochen, both 36, admitted to being part of a criminal conspiracy and conspiring to trick shops into believing they were the credit card owners.
Li was jailed for 15 days, while Xu , – who backed out of the plan earlier – was jailed for eight days.
Their co-conspirators – Zhao Yongzhi, 28, and Zhang Tianyu, 29 , – have been charged with cheating, and their situations are pending. Zhao is even accused of purchasing metal plates defrauding, in addition to smartphones.
According to the jury, Li received a message from a Chinese acquaintance known as” Huihuang” promising to make money by purchasing expensive goods in Singapore using other people’s credit cards.
Li was informed that he needed to travel to Singapore to fulfill some Huihuang employees.
On Nov 4, Li asked Xu to meet him in the program. They arrived in Singapore the following morning.
HOW THE FRAUD Performed
Zhao and Zhang met up with Li and Xu, who explained that they would give the couple a certain mobile phone to use to pay for the products.
They were instructed to make contactless payments by someone who may dial them during a buy and give them instructions.
Zhao and Zhang even explained that , false Japanese documents made using Li and Xu’s images may be used , as evidence of identity during the order.
Investigations revealed that the program involved the use of a mobile software that could be used to store credit card information from a user from another country.
Some credit card details were obtained through hacking.
After hearing how the system worked, Xu said he did not want to take part again, while Li agreed to continue his presence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicole Teo said.
In Marina Bay Sands, Zhao showed how the system was carried out the day after Li and Zhao met.
Zhao spoke with a man over the phone and used the phone to purchase an phone 16.
Therefore they went back to another store to make a second order. This day, Zhao took longer to make payments, and Li left Zhao in the store because he was concerned about getting caught.
Zhao returned after purchasing a second phone, and Li explained to him that he was scared of being discovered. He had no desire to continue with the program.
Offense THAT IS SYNCHALTICAL AND Advanced
The attorney requested that Li Li spend two months in prison and Xu spend six to eight weeks in jail.
She made a point about the syndicated and international character of the crimes, and said a barrier word was needed to convey a message to would-be offenders.
Ms. Teo added that Zhao’s false purchase of two smartphones was not attributable to Li.
Ms. K. Keerthana, the defense attorney, requested two decades in Li’s prison and six months in Xu’s.
She claimed that because Li and Xu didn’t actually perpetrate the fraud in the end, no genuine damage was caused, and that any possible harm was also eliminated when both men made the wrong choice.
She added that Li and Xu made a decision to not participate once they became aware of how powerful the plan was.
District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan made note of new press reports about credit card fraud in his ruling, saying such crimes had been punished with harsh sentences.
The authorities reported in November that there was a growing trend of foreigners obtaining credit cards and scams at nearby businesses.