SINGAPORE - A man took a credit card he found at his father's laundry shop and used it to pay for expenses totalling $16,164, mainly on visits to night clubs.
Cheng Liqin, 34, made 19 successful transactions using the misappropriated credit card belonging to Mr Kishin RK, 32, between Nov 16 and 25, 2014.
On Tuesday (Aug 23), Cheng was sentenced to 10 months' jail after he had pleaded guilty to eight charges, with 13 others taken into consideration.
A district court heard that Cheng, who was helping in his father's laundry shop at Tanjong Katong Road, found Mr Kishin's UOB Infinite Visa credit card in a container at his father's workstation on Nov 14 that year.
On Nov 16, he deceived the manager of Club Aura at Orchard Hotel into believing that he was the rightful owner of the card when he used it to pay for tips amounting to $450.
The next day, a Thai woman working at the club asked him if he could "buy her out", which means spending a sum of money at the club so that she would no longer have to work there. He agreed and bought $12,000 worth of flowers to "buy'' her out, using the stolen credit card.
On Nov 23, he went to Club Royce Exquisite KTV at Tras Street and used the card to pay for food and beverage amounting to $468. He then adjourned to Club Nine at Peace Centre, Selegie Road, where he used the card to pay for a $400 garland presentation.
Two days later, he used the card to pay for beverage amounting to $418 and a garland presentation worth $600.
That afternoon, when he tried to buy a watch worth $29,500 at Chuan Watch Collection at Golden Landmark Shopping Complex with the credit card, the transaction failed.
Cheng was detained and arrested by the police.
He has returned all the money.
He could have been jailed for up to five years and/or fined for each charge of cheating by personation. For dishonest misappropriation, the maximum penalty is two years' jail and a fine, and for attempted cheating, five years' jail and a fine.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/man-gets-10-months-jail-for-credit-card-fraud
