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Jail for Malaysians who entered Singapore repeatedly to withdraw S$1 million in total for syndicate
The men received their assignments from a duty roster in a Telegram chat assigning people to Singapore to withdraw cash each week.
A man withdrawing Singapore dollars from a bank teller machine. (Photo: AFP)
Lydia Lam
06 Mar 2026 04:44PM
SINGAPORE: Two Malaysian men who repeatedly entered Singapore and withdrew about S$1 million (US$792,000) in scam proceeds between them were sentenced to jail on Friday (Mar 6).
Chang Yang, 23, was given four years and four months' jail, while Ivan Thong Yoong Khean, 27, will be imprisoned for four years.
The pair had admitted to conspiring with each other to withdraw S$403,020 from 24 bank accounts between May 2024 and December 2024. Another two charges each were considered in sentencing.
On top of the shared sum, Chang withdrew another S$371,850 and Thong withdrew another S$255,620.
Thong had taken up a "job opportunity" from an acquaintance as he was unable to pay back a loan he had taken.
He was added to Telegram group chats, which Chang subsequently joined after owing RM100,000 (S$32,200) to a creditor.
The chats disseminated weekly duty rosters which assigned two people to enter Singapore on certain days to perform cash withdrawals.
On average, Thong and Chang were on duty two to three times a week.
On entering Singapore, they received instructions from the other chat on how much to withdraw, which ATM cards to use and the one-time passwords for each card.
They would collect the cards from lockers at *Scape mall or be handed the cards by a delivery driver.
The men would decide where to make the withdrawals from and update the chat before taking further instructions.
They retained about S$500 to S$600 from the withdrawn cash each time they performed their duty.
Depending on the instructions received, Thong would either pass the rest of the cash to a third party, or Chang would take the money back to Malaysia.
In total, Chang earned about RM50,000 while Thong earned about RM10,000 from their duties.
The men were arrested at Takashimaya on Dec 5, 2024 with 36 ATM cards and S$34,720 on them.
Another 15 ATM cards were found in a locker.
The money withdrawn by the two men belonged to victims of government official impersonation scams and Alipay scams, with some victims being vulnerable and elderly.
The prosecution said a transnational syndicate was involved, with both men "well aware" that they were working for a syndicate.
For engaging in a conspiracy to enter into an arrangement that facilitates the control of criminal proceeds, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.