Updated: 07/30/2013 14:07 | By Channel NewsAsia
Two youths sentenced to probation, community service for charity scam
SINGAPORE: Two youths who came up with a charity scam that tricked people into parting with their money were sentenced to 18 months' probation and 100 hours of community service each by a district court on Tuesday.
20-year-old Brian Sie Eng Fa and 19-year-old Ho Loong Ann pretended to raise funds for St Luke's ElderCare, an organisation which provides day care services to the elderly.
For a S$10 donation, they would give their victims a badge as a “souvenir”.
The pair made door-to-door visits at a HDB block in Ang Mo Kio, and told their victims that they were probationers serving out their community service hours.
They also produced forged donation registration permits to make their story more believable.
Sie and Ho would then split the cash obtained from the scam equally between themselves.
Investigations revealed that St Luke's ElderCare does not raise money through door-to-door collections.
When the pair was caught, the proceeds of the charity scam totalling S$325 were found on them, as well as 14 badges and the two forged permits.
Both Sie and Ho were expressionless as they stood in the dock together.
Their parents, who were also in court, had to sign a S$5,000 bond to ensure their good behaviour.
They could have been jailed and fined for the offences. - CNA/xq
