Aug 31, 2010
Anti-crime ambassador jailed
<!-- by line --> By Khushwant Singh
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> A CRIME Prevention Ambassador (CPA) used his position to win the trust of his victims and then conned them of their money. Ho Kam Seng, 60, would also show off the two books he had written on crime awareness, titled The Devil's Joke and Freedom's Price, to his victims.
On Tuesday, Ho was jailed for four years and nine months for several offences, including criminal breach of trust and breaching bankruptcy regulations by running two businesses. It was revealed in court that Ho had faced court at least half a dozen times for offences such as cheating, criminal breach of trust and fraudulent trading between 1994 and 2004.
He was declared a bankrupt in 2004. In 2005, he was appointed an ambassador by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) to share crime prevention tips with the vulnerable. In reply to queries by The Straits Times, the NCPC said that Ho was not reappointed as a CPA in 2007 because of his legal troubles.
Its spokesman also said there are more than 180 CPAs now and applicants with criminal records are reviewed and considered on a case-by-case basis.
Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
