Home > Breaking News > Singapore > Story
Sep 10, 2009
2 in 'drop money' scam held <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- Author --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Diana Othman </td></tr></tbody></table>
TWO men have been arrested in connection with several cases of theft using the 'drop money' scam. Thirteen such cases, targeting mainly elderly victims, have been reported since July, said a police statment on Wednesday night. The suspects usually worked in pairs and operated near banks. Their victims were likely those who had withdrawn large amount of cash from the banks. The first suspect would walk in front of the victim and 'accidentally' drop a stack of cash in full view of the victim and walk away. The second suspect would then pick up the money and suggest to the victim to split the money instead of returning it to the first suspect who had dropped it.
At this juncture, the first suspect would reappear and accuse both the victim and the second suspect of stealing his money. The suspects would also suggest for body searches to be conducted. Using that ruse, both suspects would take the opportunity to steal the victim's money. Both suspects would then walk away claiming that they are going to the police station to settle the matter. The victim would only realise that his money was stolen after the suspects were gone. After extensive investigations, officers from Bedok Police Division conducted an ambush and managed to arrest the two suspects at their hotel room off Kitchener Road. Police also recovered cash amounting to S$11,710 in Singapore currency, RM6112 (S$2,493), US$150 (S$214) and a watch worth S$600.
The two suspects will be charged in court on Thursday for theft and will be remanded for further investigation. If convicted, the offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both. The police also warned that there may be others who have fallen prey to similar drop money scams and urge them to lodge a report. The suspects may have used different methods to either cheat the victim of his money or steal from him. This is demonstrated in an earlier case where a suspect dropped his wallet, after which his accomplice would pick it up from behind and offer to split the money with the victim. The second suspect would then hand over the wallet to the victim for safekeeping in exchange for the victim's valuables as collateral before leaving the victim's sight for a short while. The suspect would fail to return as promised and the victim would discover that the wallet is empty.
Sep 10, 2009
2 in 'drop money' scam held <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- Author --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Diana Othman </td></tr></tbody></table>
TWO men have been arrested in connection with several cases of theft using the 'drop money' scam. Thirteen such cases, targeting mainly elderly victims, have been reported since July, said a police statment on Wednesday night. The suspects usually worked in pairs and operated near banks. Their victims were likely those who had withdrawn large amount of cash from the banks. The first suspect would walk in front of the victim and 'accidentally' drop a stack of cash in full view of the victim and walk away. The second suspect would then pick up the money and suggest to the victim to split the money instead of returning it to the first suspect who had dropped it.
At this juncture, the first suspect would reappear and accuse both the victim and the second suspect of stealing his money. The suspects would also suggest for body searches to be conducted. Using that ruse, both suspects would take the opportunity to steal the victim's money. Both suspects would then walk away claiming that they are going to the police station to settle the matter. The victim would only realise that his money was stolen after the suspects were gone. After extensive investigations, officers from Bedok Police Division conducted an ambush and managed to arrest the two suspects at their hotel room off Kitchener Road. Police also recovered cash amounting to S$11,710 in Singapore currency, RM6112 (S$2,493), US$150 (S$214) and a watch worth S$600.
The two suspects will be charged in court on Thursday for theft and will be remanded for further investigation. If convicted, the offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both. The police also warned that there may be others who have fallen prey to similar drop money scams and urge them to lodge a report. The suspects may have used different methods to either cheat the victim of his money or steal from him. This is demonstrated in an earlier case where a suspect dropped his wallet, after which his accomplice would pick it up from behind and offer to split the money with the victim. The second suspect would then hand over the wallet to the victim for safekeeping in exchange for the victim's valuables as collateral before leaving the victim's sight for a short while. The suspect would fail to return as promised and the victim would discover that the wallet is empty.