A 22-year-old Malaysian man who acted as a courier for a government official impersonation scam syndicate has been sentenced to two years and two months' jail for his role in helping swindlers collect more than S$40,000 in cash and valuables from two elderly women in Singapore.
Tharaneswaran Krishna pleaded guilty on Monday, December 29, to one charge of dealing with the benefits of criminal conduct.
Court documents revealed that he was paid RM500 (about S$158) a day to follow instructions from unknown individuals in a Telegram group linked to the scam syndicate. The two victims ultimately lost more than S$190,000 in cash, jewellery and gold bars, none of which has been recovered.
According to court records, Tharaneswaran was introduced to the job by a distant relative in October and travelled to Singapore to carry out the tasks assigned to him. He was required to follow real-time directions from members of the Telegram group and was provided with a mobile phone and some cash to facilitate his role.
One of the victims, a 63-year-old woman, was first contacted on October 30 by someone claiming to be from UnionPay, who told her she had an expiring insurance policy.
After being redirected through several phone numbers, she eventually spoke to a man who identified himself as "Marko Lim" from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). He falsely told her that she was under investigation for money laundering and instructed her to surrender her assets to assist with investigations.
On November 6, acting on the scammer's instructions, the woman withdrew S$30,000 in cash, placed it in an envelope and met Tharaneswaran near her home in Punggol.
After verifying his identity with a pre-arranged three-digit code, she handed him the money. Tharaneswaran later passed the envelope to an unknown person near Jalan Berseh.
In a separate case on the same day, a second victim, a 65-year-old woman, was contacted by someone purporting to be from the Ministry of Law, who claimed her identity had been misused for criminal activities. She was told to buy gold and hand over her jewellery for investigation purposes. Believing the claims, she purchased four gold bars worth more than S$10,000 at a mall in Woodlands.
Later that evening, Tharaneswaran met the second victim at Block 735 Woodlands Circle and collected the gold bars after confirming her identity. He was then driven to Johor, Malaysia, where he handed the items to another unknown person.
Court documents stated that he had been instructed to hide the gold from immigration officers and to discard it if stopped.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Daniel Foo told the court that Tharaneswaran had reason to suspect his actions were linked to criminal activity, as he had been instructed to delete photographs and warned that the Telegram group would be dissolved if members were caught by authorities.
The scams came to light after the first victim and the second victim's son alerted the police on November 6. Investigations found that the first woman lost about S$140,000 in cash and jewellery, while the second lost valuables worth more than S$50,000.
Despite being promised payment, Tharaneswaran did not receive any money for his role. He returned to Singapore on November 7 and 8 to await further instructions but was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint on November 8 when he attempted to return to Malaysia.
