Two individuals who were accused of conspiring to cheat three victims of nearly S$263,000 have been acquitted following the issuance of stern warnings by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
Chinese national Wang Rui, 34, and Malaysian national Sau Young Seng, 38, were granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal on 17 September 2025.
A discharge amounting to an acquittal means the pair cannot be charged again for the same offences.
The AGC, in a statement to The Straits Times on 24 September, stated: “After carefully considering the facts and circumstances of the matter, the prosecution directed that stern warnings in lieu of prosecution be issued to both Wang and Sau.”
It added that, following the administration of the stern warnings, the prosecution applied for the discharge. District Judge Brenda Tan granted the request.
Initial charges and allegations
On 15 November 2024, Wang and Sau were each handed three cheating charges. They were accused of participating in a conspiracy to mislead three individuals into transferring funds for what were believed to be fraudulent online job or investment opportunities.
The first alleged scam occurred between June and July 2024, when a victim responded to a WhatsApp message about a job opportunity. This victim transferred more than S$28,000 to several bank accounts.
A second incident took place between June and August 2024. The duo allegedly deceived another victim into believing in a fraudulent investment scheme, resulting in losses of almost S$232,000 across five bank accounts.
In a third instance between July and August 2024, Wang and Sau were said to have tricked a victim into transferring S$2,600 to an online trading platform, tradekey.icu.
Anti-scam operation and suspected links to wider syndicate
According to police statements from November 2024, both suspects were arrested during a two-day anti-scam operation conducted on 13 and 14 November.
Authorities reportedly seized over 6,800 SIM cards, 15 mobile phones, two laptops, and recovered more than S$10,000 in cash.
Wang and Sau were believed to have been linked to a broader criminal syndicate involved in online scams targeting Singapore residents.
Investigations at the time revealed that the pair allegedly assisted in creating and selling WhatsApp accounts using both local and foreign SIM cards. These accounts were purportedly supplied to overseas-based groups to facilitate investment scams.
Singaporean authorities had initially pointed to their suspected role in offering one-time password (OTP) activation services, which could have supported scam networks.
However, details regarding how these accounts or OTP services were used in specific cases were not disclosed in court documents.
Under Singapore’s Penal Code, each cheating charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine.
The post Two accused in S$263,000 cheating case walk free after stern warnings appeared first on The Online Citizen.
