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SOLID PROOF AGAIN IT IS BETTER TO HIRE UPTRON CECA TALENTS LIKE RAMESH THAN COOLIE GENES, WHO IS BOUND TO COMMIT CRIMES!
6½ years’ jail for former DBS manager who cheated 7 victims of nearly $1.4 million
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The bulk of the money was used to fund Benjamin Chung Hiang Wee's online gambling habit, wedding and renovations.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Published May 25, 2026, 01:05 PM
Updated May 25, 2026, 07:16 PM
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SINGAPORE – A former manager with DBS Bank who cheated seven victims, including his own uncle, of nearly $1.4 million in total, was sentenced to 6½ years’ jail on May 25.
The bulk of the money was used to fund his online gambling habit, wedding and renovations.
In April, Benjamin Chung Hiang Wee, 32, pleaded guilty to six counts of cheating linked to five victims, who were duped into handing over more than $1 million.
Each victim had transferred between $66,550 and $441,850 to him. He also admitted to dealing with the benefits of crime.
On at least 32 occasions between April 2023 and April 2024, he transferred more than $823,000 of his ill-gotten gains from his bank accounts to other accounts.
Chung, who started working as a wealth planning manager in January 2019, had his employment terminated in November 2023 after he breached certain undisclosed regulatory requirements as a financial adviser.
In earlier proceedings, the court heard that the largest sum of money he had taken – $441,850 – was from his 62-year-old uncle, an odd-job worker.
Chung, whose job scope included recommending and selling financial products from insurance company Manulife (Singapore), had convinced his uncle that he could earn between 4 per cent and 5 per cent in interest if he invested in a “two-year fixed deposit scheme”.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Joseph Gwee said earlier: “In truth, the whole fixed deposit scheme never existed, and (Chung) used the money... to support his online gambling.
“He had no intention of opening a fixed deposit account for (his uncle).”
His uncle transferred $260,000 to Chung’s account between October 2022 and April 2023, and another $181,850 between December 2023 and April 2024.
His uncle had diverted investments from another bank to support his nephew, only to find out that he had been cheated.
“As a result of the incident, (the uncle) was unable to sleep for the whole month and was advised to see a psychiatrist, but did not do so,” the prosecutor said.
“Family dynamics have also changed – he has been called ‘stupid’ for trusting the accused, and is now distant with the accused’s mother.”
The court heard that Chung used similar scams on multiple occasions between February 2022 and April 2024 to cheat the other victims.
His offences came to light in 2024 when the police learnt that he had misused the bank’s name to obtain money from various customers for purported loans and fixed deposit schemes.
He surrendered to the authorities on May 6, 2024, and was arrested soon after.
In April, the court heard that Chung had returned more than $231,000 to five of the victims, including his uncle.
