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Details of Cambodia scam centre targeting Singapore victims emerge at woman's trial
De Villar Rizalyn Panganiban, a Filipina, is accused of being part of a scam syndicate that targeted victims in Singapore through a three-level scheme that tricked them into thinking their bank accounts had been compromised.
An operation conducted in Cambodia. (Photo: Singapore Police Force)
Koh Wan Ting
03 Jun 2026 07:51PM
SINGAPORE: Details of how a Cambodia-based scam syndicate allegedly targeted victims in Singapore through a three-level scheme emerged in court on Wednesday (Jun 3), as a woman went on trial over her alleged participation in the operation.
De Villar Rizalyn Panganiban, 35, a Filipina, allegedly belonged to a criminal group that carried out government official impersonation scams, in which victims were tricked into believing their bank accounts had been compromised before being persuaded to transfer money to accounts controlled by scammers.
She was among the 12 people charged in September last year after the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Cambodian National Police disrupted the syndicate in a cross-border operation.
SPF said then that the group is believed to be behind at least 330 reported cases involving losses of over S$40 million (US$31 million). Apart from De Villar, nine Singaporeans and three Malaysians were charged.
De Villar claimed trial to two charges, one for being a member of a locally-linked organised criminal group, and the other for conspiring with others in the group to cheat. She is represented by lawyer Chooi Jing Yen of his eponymous law firm.
According to court documents setting out facts which both sides agree to, De Villar had been approached by a woman to take a job in Cambodia in March 2025. She thought that she would be working for an online gambling company as an office staff member, with a monthly salary of US$1,500.
Court documents did not specify where De Villar was located when offered the job.
She arrived in Phnom Penh on Mar 29, 2025, and was taken to a call centre run by the group.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Suhas Malhotra and Yeo Kee Hwan said that on the first day De Villar arrived in Cambodia, she underwent training to become a caller and was given a script to memorise.
She allegedly memorised this script so well that she was able to write it out word for word when an investigation officer interviewed her some months later in September 2025.
The prosecution argued that De Villar was a willing participant in the operation and not a victim of human trafficking or deception. It then called an investigation officer to the stand to give evidence on De Villar's statements.
The officer testified that, according to De Villar's statements, she was also given a list of questions that potential victims might ask during the calls.
THREE LINES OF CALLERS
The prosecution set out how the scam syndicate operated through three "lines" of callers, known as line one, line two and line three.Line one callers allegedly posed as Singapore bank officers and cold-called large numbers of victims.
They tricked victims into believing their credit cards or bank accounts had been compromised and urged them to lodge a report with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Victims were then transferred to line two callers, who posed as MAS officers who filed fake police reports on their behalf.
Victims who continued to believe the deception would be transferred to line three callers, who pretended to be Singapore law enforcement officers.
These callers deceived victims into believing that they were required to transfer their funds into a “safe” bank account to allow law enforcement to investigate their compromised credit card or bank account. The bank accounts were actually under the criminal group's control.
On Mar 30, 2025, De Villar was added to a Telegram group chat through which supervisors kept track of how calls were transferred between the lines – also referred to as "passed bills".
According to evidence from her statements, the daily amount scammed from victims ranged from S$20,000 to S$60,000.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sin...xposed-trial-filipino-woman-6159526?cid=FBcna
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