A 37-year-old Singaporean who worked for an organised criminal group in Cambodia before collecting nearly S$656,800 from scam victims in Singapore has been sentenced to five years’ jail.
Muhammad Firdaus Abdul Rahman was sentenced on Friday (28 August) after pleading guilty to being part of an organised criminal group and assisting another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
Because he committed the offences while under a remission order from an earlier prison sentence, he must serve an additional 236 days behind bars.
In other words, his time in prison will extend beyond the five-year sentence imposed for his latest offences.
He Took a “Scam Job” in Cambodia
Firdaus had previously been convicted of cheating in November 2022 and sentenced to two years and seven months’ jail.
He was later released early under a remission order, which required him not to commit another offence between 24 September 2024 and 3 August 2025.
But sometime before October 2024, a friend identified in court documents as Jackson Lim Soon Lai offered him a scam job in Cambodia.
The promised pay was S$1,000 in basic salary plus a 3 per cent commission.
Firdaus knew Lim was involved in illegal activities but accepted the offer.
On 3 October 2024, he flew to Cambodia with Lim and another man referred to in court documents as Chris Jerome.
After landing, they travelled by van to an undisclosed area near one of Cambodia’s borders.
Firdaus and Jerome were taken to an office guarded by around 15 people and several dogs. Firdaus later observed about 60 people working there on different scams, including women involved in internet romance scams.
He Made Scam Calls to People in Singapore
Firdaus and Jerome were trained to call Singapore phone numbers and pretend to be from the “Singapore Cyber Emergency Response Team”.
They would tell targets that the calls concerned cybersecurity issues.
If someone believed the story, the call would be transferred to another member of the syndicate. Firdaus and Jerome could receive a cut of money obtained from a victim, depending on who had made the initial call.
Firdaus carried out scam calls for about a month.
He was later hospitalised, with the syndicate paying his medical expenses. After being discharged, he returned to Singapore alone.
His involvement did not end there.
While Firdaus was back in Singapore, Lim asked him for publicly available information and photographs concerning the Singapore Police Force and Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Firdaus knew the material was intended for use in scams and helped obtain it.
Collected S$656,788 From at Least 14 Victims
Around 19 April 2025, Lim asked Firdaus to collect packages of money and pass them to another person.
Firdaus knew the money represented proceeds of criminal conduct and knew Lim remained in Cambodia and was linked to transnational criminal syndicates carrying out cheating offences.
He nevertheless agreed.
Between 19 April and 5 May 2025, Firdaus collected S$656,788 from at least 14 victims of government official impersonation scams.
The collections took place at various locations in Singapore, including residential areas and shopping malls.
Firdaus received at least S$1,000 for helping with the collections.
He was arrested in May 2025.
Judge Considered His Medical Condition
Firdaus’ lawyers told the court that he had developed a serious heart condition earlier in 2026 and asked for his health to be taken into account.
The prosecution argued that his condition did not reach the threshold for judicial mercy or amount to a mitigating factor that justified a substantially lower sentence.
District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam ultimately sentenced Firdaus to 60 months’ jail.
The judge said he had initially considered a 25 per cent reduction in sentence but increased it to 30 per cent after taking Firdaus’ medical condition into account.
The separate 236-day sentence arising from his breach of the remission order was not subject to that reduction.
