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Malaysian man, 36, charged over impersonation scam revisits crime scene
The 36-year-old Malaysian man was charged on Jan 28 for his alleged involvement in several cases of Government Official Impersonation Scams (GOIS).
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Ong Chin Wee
PUBLISHED ONFebruary 02, 2026 5:04 PM
BYEsther Lam
www.asiaone.com
A 36-year-old Malaysian man who was allegedly involved in several cases of Government Official Impersonation Scams (GOIS) was taken back to the crime scene on Monday (Feb 2).
The accused, Yeap Chong Siah, arrived at the scene at about 2.57pm.
The victim, who lost close to $12,000 and an assortment of valuables, allegedly met Yeap at 44 Beo Crescent to hand him a portion of the items.
When Yeap appeared at the crime scene, he was dressed in a white top, blue shorts and slippers, and looked dazed as he exited the vehicle with his head lowered and his wrists and ankles restrained.
He was accompanied by three plainclothes police officers and was seen talking to them.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Ong Chin Wee
Victim claimed misuse of identity
In a statement on Jan 27, the police said that they received a report on Jan 5 from a victim — who was allegedly contacted by scammers — claiming she had purchased an insurance policy and her personal information was misused.The victim reported that the call was transferred to an unknown person purportedly from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), who informed her that she was suspected to be involved in money laundering activities.
Under the guise of investigative purposes, the victim was directed to hand over cash amounting to $12,000 and an assortment of valuables to unknown persons, the statement said.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Ong Chin Wee
After extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command identified Yeap as one of the unknown persons who collected cash and valuables from the victim and subsequently arrested him on Jan 26.
Prior to his arrest, Yeap had collected an assortment of valuables, which were recovered, from another victim and mobile phones were seized as case exhibits.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Yeap is believed to be involved in other similar cases and was facilitating the operations of the scam syndicate.
Charged in court on Jan 28
On Jan 28, Yeap was charged in court under money laundering laws.He was remanded, with permission to be taken out to assist with police investigations, and will have his case mentioned again on Feb 4.
If found guilty, he faces up to 10 years and/or a fine of up to $500,000.
Under amendments to the law effective Dec 30, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes.
Meanwhile, mules who enable scammers by laundering their proceeds, providing SIM cards or providing Singpass credentials can face caning of up to 12 strokes.
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