Man spun stories to allegedly cheat six people into giving him $25k
A man who spun stories ranging from credit card debt and trading losses to his purported involvement in a traffic accident has been charged with cheating.
According to court documents, Tan Yu Shu told tall tales to allegedly deceive six people into transferring him a total of $25,700.
The 27-year-old was charged with 11 counts of cheating and one charge under the Moneylenders Act.
Tan appeared court via video-link on Nov 13.
Donning a white shirt, with his hands cuffed, Tan looked down and nodded as the prosecution applied for a four-week adjournment to complete investigations.
The prosecution said that the accused has made restitution of only $7,000. Tan was offered bail of $20,000.
Tan started spinning stories in 2023.
One victim transferred $3,500 to the accused in October 2023, after Tan allegedly told him that he had suffered losses trading and needed a loan to cover the transaction.
He is said to have deceived the same victim in December 2023, when he allegedly lied to the man that he needed a loan to pay off his credit card bills. The victim handed him $3,500 on this occasion.
In June 2024, Tan allegedly told another individual that he was involved in a traffic accident and got the victim to transfer him $4,000.
The accused targeted the same individual again later that month and in July by telling the victim he needed money to cover his handphone bills and housing rental. The individual transferred him $1,500 in total.
On another occasion in April 2024, he allegedly told a third victim that his POSB account was frozen and dishonestly induced her into transferring him $1,000.
Tan was also charged with assisting an unknown individual to carry on his business of moneylending under the Moneylenders Act.
Tan is said to have provided his Internet banking credentials for the person to access his Trust Bank account.
His case will be heard again on Dec 11.
If convicted of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and is liable to a fine.
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