Man admits to being part of Sarawak syndicate harvesting Singapore bank accounts for illegal use
Tan Kang Yung started out as a money mule and later became a handler, guiding money mules to Singapore to open bank accounts.
The State Courts of Singapore (File photo: Â鶹/Jeremy Long)
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SINGAPORE: A Malaysian man who was heavily in debt to loan sharks got roped into a criminal syndicate first as a money mule and later as a handler of mules who opened bank accounts in Singapore.
The bank accounts were handed over to online gambling operators who used them for their illegal businesses.
According to the prosecution, his participation in the syndicate over six months led to 70 newly-opened bank accounts at seven Singapore banks falling into the hands of the syndicate, with over S$837,000 (US$644,550) flowing through the accounts.
Of this, almost S$43,000 was traced to reported scam cases in Singapore.
Tan Kang Yung, 34, pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Nov 26) to multiple charges, including cheating and offences under the Computer Misuse Act.
He is the first of those arrested from the syndicate to plead guilty.
According to the prosecution, the syndicate targeted and misused the Ministry of Manpower's processes on the issuing of work permits for foreign workers.
THE CASE
Tan was heavily in debt to Malaysian unlicensed moneylenders while living in Sarawak in March 2024.
He was referred to a person called Ah Siang, who was a member of the Sarawak-based syndicate harvesting Singapore bank accounts and corresponding internet banking login credentials.
Ah Siang, whose real identity has not been established, told Tan that he would apply for a Singapore work permit for Tan for the sole purpose of allowing Tan to open bank accounts and hand them over to the syndicate.
In return, Tan was promised that RM3,000 (S$940) per month would be offset from his RM50,000 debt. This was provided that he managed to open accounts with seven banks for the syndicate.
Tan agreed and an in-principle approval was issued to him to proceed with the Singapore work permit application.
He travelled to Johor Bahru with a handler assigned to take charge of his movements. He was also guided to undergo a medical checkup in Singapore and taken to various banks to open bank accounts using his work permit.
Another alleged syndicate member, 38-year-old Malaysian Angeline Chan Sze Sze, who is at large, later offered Tan a monthly salary of RM2,500 to work as a handler of money mules.
Tan accepted and became a handler sometime in April 2024.
Under Chan's instructions, Tan accompanied 12 money mules from Malaysia to Singapore and guided them to open 39 bank accounts using their in-principle approvals or work permit cards between May and August in 2024.
Tan also helped obtain internet banking login credentials of bank accounts for the syndicate's use.
For his activities with the syndicate, Tan earned a total of RM6,500, comprising of two months' salary and an additional RM1,500 as commission.
In August 2024, Malaysian police alerted the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force that Tan had been arrested with several other suspects in Johor Bahru for harvesting internet banking login credentials of Singapore bank accounts in order to supply them to online gambling operators in Malaysia.
Tan was later extradited to Singapore and charged.
The prosecution is seeking six years' jail for Tan, along with a fine of about S$2,000.
Tan is represented by Ms Megan Chia from Tan Rajah & Cheah.
The case was adjourned to December for mitigation and sentencing.
