Several police reports lodged against Mobile Air

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Joker chew is so unpopular. Less then 1/2 of famous amos yee.

 

[Prodigy]

Four Mobile Air salesmen jailed between 4 and 14 months

Mobile Air salesmen (from left) Koh Guan Seng, Kam Kok Keong, Lim Hong Ching, and Kelvin Lim Zhi Wei were each jailed between four and 14 months for engaging in conspiracy to cheat walk-in customers, on Wednesday, Oct 14, 2015.ST PHOTOS: WONG KWAI CHOW

Published Oct 14, 2015, 3:15 pm SGT
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

SINGAPORE - Four salesmen from a mobile phone shop in Sim Lim Square who engaged in a conspiracy to cheat walk-in customers were jailed between four and 14 months on Wednesday (Oct 14).

Koh Guan Seng, 38, Kam Kok Keong, 31, Lim Hong Ching, 34, and Kelvin Lim Zhi Wei, 32 were then working as freelance sales executives for Jover Chew, owner of the now-defunct Mobile Air mobile phone shop which duped $16,149 from its unsuspecting customers between April 15 and Oct 27 last year.

The case against Chew, 33, will be heard again on Oct 28.

Mobile Air came under the spotlight in October last year after it refunded $1,010 to a customer in coins.

The following month, a Vietnamese tourist was caught on a viral video kneeling in the shop and begging for a refund.

Koh, who pleaded guilty to six of 15 charges, was given 14 months' jail; Kam was jailed 11 months for four of nine charges; Lim Hong Ching was sentenced to six months in prison while Kelvin Lim was given four months.

The court heard that Chew manned the shop personally, controlled the pricing of the mobile devices and gave detailed instructions to his salesmen on how to conduct sales.

The salesman would offer a mobile device to a customer at an attractive price, which would be lower than the "cost price".

When the customer indicated that he wished to buy the product at the quoted price, the salesman would ask the customer to make full payment.

Upon payment, the customer would not be given the device but asked to sign an invoice which reflected the agreed price. However, once it was signed, additional items and amounts would be added to it. Such items could include a "warranty" or an "in-house package".

The salesman would then alter the total price on the invoice and demand the extra amounts from the customer.

This method of collecting payment in two tranches was devised by Chew, the court heard.

The salesman would use the signed invoice, which now reflected the new items as basis for refusing to hand over the product unless the victim paid the additional amounts.

 

[Prodigy]

Jover Chew pleads guilty to 12 charges, sentencing on Nov 30

Photo: The Straits Times

Monday, Nov 16, 2015

SINGAPORE - Jover Chew, 33, pleaded guilty to 12 charges in court on Monday (Nov 16) and will be sentenced on Nov 30.

Bail was extended to the former owner of a Sim Lim Square mobile phone shop that became infamous for cheating foreigners, Channel NewsAsia reported.

Chew had faced 26 charges of cheating, one charge of criminal intimidation and one charge of insulting behaviour, CNA said.

The Straits Times reported that the other 16 charges will be taken into consideration when sentencing.

Chew was arrested in May over cheating cases at Sim Lim Square.

Last November, he earned the ire of Singaporeans when one of his victims, a Vietnamese tourist, kneeled and beg for a refund tearfully at his shop.

Last month, four salesmen from his shop were jailed for conspiring to cheat customers.

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Mobile Air's Jover Chew taught staff how to cheat customers

Jover Chew Chiew Loon.

Photo: WANBAO

Ronald Loh
Wednesday, Nov 18, 2015

Four months after setting up Mobile Air, he masterminded a scheme to lure unsuspecting customers to his Sim Lim Square shop by offering mobile devices at low prices.

Jover Chew Chiew Loon and his crooked sales team would then deviously include exorbitant add-ons to inflate the price and use bullying tactics to force through the sale.

Between January and October last year, Chew and his accomplices cheated 26 customers of $12,199.

He first made headlines last October after giving a customer $547 in coins as part of a $1,010 refund ordered by the Small Claims Tribunal.

He was in the spotlight again the following month after a video of a Vietnamese tourist kneeling in his shop and begging for a refund went viral.

Yesterday, Chew, 33, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of cheating, one count of criminal intimidation and one count of using insulting behaviour to a customer.

His four accomplices, Koh Guan Seng, Kam Kok Keong, Lim Hong Ching and Kelvin Lim Zhi Wei, were sentenced last month to between four and 14 months' jail each.

Court papers said Chew set up Mobile Air in October 2013, actively managed it and earned 60 per cent commission on profits from mobile phone sales.

He was the one who developed the modus operandi to cheat customers and imparted it to his employees.

One of the 26 victims was Bangladeshi national Lutfur Rahman Abdul Alim, 41, a construction worker who earned about $1,300 a month.

On Oct 14 last year, Mr Lutfur Rahman was at Sim Lim Square to buy a Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

After comparing prices in a few shops, he saw that Mobile Air was selling a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for $330.

BLANK INVOICE

After paying the $330, he was told by Kelvin Lim to pay an additional $600 for a two-year warranty.

When the Bangladeshi asked for a refund, Lim said he would have to compensate Mobile Air $1,000 for breach of contract.

At this point, Chew entered the shop and told Mr Lutfur Rahman that he would fine him $1,000 if he did not purchase the warranty.

Mr Lutfur Rahman reluctantly handed over his work permit and ATM card, and signed a blank invoice.

He did so fearfully because there were six salesmen in Mobile Air.

But Lim was unable to deduct the $600 using a Nets machine from Mr Lutfur Rahman's account as there were insufficient funds.

The salesmen shouted at Mr Lutfur Rahman and one of them followed him to the ATM and checked his bank balance, which read $307.

They then made him pay $300 and handed him a mobile phone that was not working.

On another occasion, Chew paid Chinese national Liu Jinhui part of her refund in coins amounting to $547.

After the bag of coins fell on the floor, he made Ms Liu pick them up and filmed her doing so with intent to cause her distress.

Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Lim said in her sentencing submissions that Chew had tarnished the reputation of Singapore as a retail and tourism destination.

For example, China issued a travel advisory to its citizens to exercise caution when shopping for mobile phones and electronic devices in Singapore, she said.

DPP Lim also said Chew had targeted foreigners and many of his victims were low-wage workers who understood limited English.

The prosecution called for a 36-month jail term in light of pressing public interest and as a deterrence to dishonest retail practices.

Chew's lawyer, Mr Mathew Kurian, said his client had made full restitution to the victims and was remorseful.

Chew is expected to be back in court on Nov 30 for sentencing.

How they cheated customers

A Mobile Air salesman would offer a mobile device at a low, attractive price to walk-in customers.

After the customer agreed on the price, the salesman collected the full payment.

The salesman would then open the packaging of the mobile device in front of the customer but would not hand over the goods.

He would ask the customer to sign an invoice that reflected the agreed price.

The salesman would then take the opportunity to write additional items on the invoice, such as an in-house package or warranty, and alter the total price.

After this, the salesman would demand more money as stated on the altered invoice and refuse to hand over the product unless the customer paid the total price.

The salesman may eventually settle for a smaller additional amount or get the customer to accept a cheaper device.

If the customer aborted the purchase, the salesman would not give him a refund or would retain most of the initial payment as "cancellation fee".

Apart from the invoice, former Mobile Air owner Jover Chew also used such documents as warranty forms and cancellation agreements - which showed bogus items such as "$100 for opportunity cost" and "$180 for reflashing (sic) service" to fleece his customers.

 

[Prodigy]

Jover Chew, former boss of Mobile Air, jailed 33 months for conning customers, also fined $2,000

Jover Chew, owner of the now-defunct Mobile Air at Sim Lim Square. ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

Published 11 hours ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

SINGAPORE - The boss of a now-defunct electronics firm was jailed 33 months on Monday (Nov 30) for cheating his customers.

Jover Chew Chiew Loon, 33, was also fined $2,000 for a charge of insulting behaviour.

Chew, the "brains and architect" behind Mobile Air, had earlier pleaded guilty to 12 of 28 charges - including abetment by conspiracy to cheat and criminal intimidation.

The prosecution had called for a three-year jail sentence for Chew.

Chew has paid back the losses of $12,199 suffered by his 26 victims.

On one occasion, when ordered by a Small Claims Tribunal to reimburse a customer $1,010, Chew gave her a bag containing $547 of the sum in coins, and filmed her aunt picking up the coins when they fell to the floor of his shop.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Lim said that on Sept 24 last year, Chinese national Zou Jing Tong, 22, and her aunt, Ms Liu Jinhui, wanted to buy an iPhone 6 Plus for $1,600 at the Sim Lim Square shop.

Chew's salesman Kam Kok Keong, 31, made her sign the invoice and other documents after she had paid $1,600.

She was then told she had to pay $2,376 extra, plus $99 a month for a two-year warranty. When she said she did not want to buy the phone, Kam said he would refund her only $600 and she had to "compensate Mobile Air $872 for breach of contract".

She called the police, who advised her to lodge a complaint with the Consumers Association of Singapore. She left with the phone after paying a further $1,400. She extended her stay here to seek recourse.

The tribunal ordered that she be refunded $1,010. She and her aunt returned to Mobile Air a month later, on Oct 28, to collect the money.

Chew went to the rear of the shop, then handed Ms Zou a big bag of coins, asking her to check if the amount was correct.

"Ms Liu remarked that the accused was not sincere in returning the money and accidentally dropped the bag of coins on the floor,'' said DPP Lim.

Chew told Ms Zou to pick up the coins, then filmed Ms Liu doing so, saying he wanted to be sure that she was counting the money.

Kam and three others are now serving four to 14 months for their role in the scam.

In another incident, a Vietnamese tourist had begged, knelt and cried after Chew and his staff overcharged him for an iPhone 6.