Man admits using ruse to swindle women
Peter Aw Boo Cheong, 47, who is out on $40,000 bail, is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday for cheating six women.
PUBLISHED
FEB 22, 2019, 5:00 AM SGT
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Shaffiq Alkhatib
A woman who was cheated of more than $68,000 in 2016 by her then boyfriend found out last year that she was not his only victim.
The man, Malaysian Peter Aw Boo Cheong, 47, admitted to 14 counts of cheating involving nearly $250,000 on Nov 28 last year.
After reading the report about Aw's case in The Straits Times, the 50-year-old Singaporean woman made a police report two days later.
Yesterday, Aw, who is jobless, pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating involving $57,250. The woman was one of his six victims.
Police investigations showed that Aw, a Singapore permanent resident, and the woman started a romantic relationship after meeting on dating platform Tinder in 2016.
Aw called himself "Daniel" and claimed that he was an experienced silver trader.
He told the woman about an "investment opportunity" which he claimed would reap high profits.
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Said Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Hsiao Tien: "In the accused's dealings with the victim, he led her to believe that he was a credible and trustworthy person who had valuable information about investment, and would help her to invest in silver, in her best interests.
"In fact, the accused was never a trader and had never invested in foreign currencies and commodities. The accused did not use any of the monies for the purported investment."
Aw's bogus investment pitch led to the woman handing over $68,250 to him between May and June 2016.
He used a similar method to cheat five other women between August 2016 and July 2017.
Four of the victims were Singaporeans while the fifth was an Indonesian living in Singapore.
They were aged between 39 and 48 years.
Aw has so far made a restitution of $500.
DPP Tan told the court that Aw has a history of committing similar offences and urged District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt to sentence him to at least five years' jail.
The court also heard that Aw had served 14 months' jail in 2013 after cheating four women of $55,000. He had met them on dating websites.
Aw, who is out on $40,000 bail, is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday for cheating the six women.
For each count of cheating, he can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
Peter Aw Boo Cheong, 47, who is out on $40,000 bail, is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday for cheating six women.
PUBLISHED
FEB 22, 2019, 5:00 AM SGT
FACEBOOKTWITTEREMAIL
Shaffiq Alkhatib
A woman who was cheated of more than $68,000 in 2016 by her then boyfriend found out last year that she was not his only victim.
The man, Malaysian Peter Aw Boo Cheong, 47, admitted to 14 counts of cheating involving nearly $250,000 on Nov 28 last year.
After reading the report about Aw's case in The Straits Times, the 50-year-old Singaporean woman made a police report two days later.
Yesterday, Aw, who is jobless, pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating involving $57,250. The woman was one of his six victims.
Police investigations showed that Aw, a Singapore permanent resident, and the woman started a romantic relationship after meeting on dating platform Tinder in 2016.
Aw called himself "Daniel" and claimed that he was an experienced silver trader.
He told the woman about an "investment opportunity" which he claimed would reap high profits.
Related Story
Tips to avoid being scammed
Related Story
Overall crime up 1.4% last year, fuelled by 20% surge in scams
Said Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Hsiao Tien: "In the accused's dealings with the victim, he led her to believe that he was a credible and trustworthy person who had valuable information about investment, and would help her to invest in silver, in her best interests.
"In fact, the accused was never a trader and had never invested in foreign currencies and commodities. The accused did not use any of the monies for the purported investment."
Aw's bogus investment pitch led to the woman handing over $68,250 to him between May and June 2016.
He used a similar method to cheat five other women between August 2016 and July 2017.
Four of the victims were Singaporeans while the fifth was an Indonesian living in Singapore.
They were aged between 39 and 48 years.
Aw has so far made a restitution of $500.
DPP Tan told the court that Aw has a history of committing similar offences and urged District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt to sentence him to at least five years' jail.
The court also heard that Aw had served 14 months' jail in 2013 after cheating four women of $55,000. He had met them on dating websites.
Aw, who is out on $40,000 bail, is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday for cheating the six women.
For each count of cheating, he can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
