A married couple in Singapore carried out a property investment scam that defrauded the wife’s extramarital partner of $220,000.
The husband remained oblivious to his wife’s extramarital affair throughout the entire fraud scheme.
Felicia Tay Bee Ling, 49, and Eric Ong Chee Wei, 50, pleaded guilty to cheating charges on 24 Jun 2025. Their victim, Mr David Tan, 48, fell prey to fabricated property deals involving non-existent condominium units.
Property Investment Scam Targets Wife’s Secret Lover
Ong worked as a property agent from 1999 to 2006 before taking on odd jobs, while Tay was a housewife.
Tay met Mr Tan in 2010 and began an affair with him from 2014 to 2017.
In September 2015, the couple devised their fraudulent scheme. Tay would present Mr Tan with supposed investment opportunities in condominium units, that could supposedly be resold for substantial profits.
Acting on Ong’s instructions, Tay told Mr Tan about “investment opportunities” at Residences @ Emerald Hill in the Orchard area. She claimed developers were offloading unsold properties to agents at discounted rates due to the “poor property market”.
Tay positioned her husband as one such agent, leveraging his background in the property industry. Mr Tan had never met Ong but knew he was Tay’s husband.
The housewife promised Mr Tan he could purchase seven units directly from the developer at below-market rates. She claimed the units could be resold at higher prices, generating total profits of over S$1.7 million within three months, once all units were sold.
Tay advised Mr Tan not to tell “outsiders” about these so-called investment opportunities, describing them as “exclusive offers”. She sent him handwritten records of the “investments” but never provided official sale and purchase documents.
Fake Documents and False Security Create Elaborate Deception
Ong provided Tay with hard copies of option-to-purchase (OTP) forms purportedly issued through a salesperson affiliated with real estate company OrangeTee. Ong had become acquainted with this salesperson during his time as a property agent.
The salesperson remained unaware that Ong had used OTP forms issued in their name to commit fraud.
Tay filled out an OTP form for each of the seven units and sent screenshots of these forged documents to Mr Tan via WhatsApp.
Between September and November 2015, Mr Tan handed over S$220,000 to Tay as “security deposits” across seven separate occasions. His immense trust in Tay stemmed from their romantic relationship and his belief that Ong worked in the property industry.
Six of the seven units Mr Tan supposedly purchased did not exist at all. The remaining unit was not available for sale, meaning the couple had no legitimate basis to offer it as an investment opportunity.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kiera Yu explained that the couple’s intention was to dupe Mr Tan into paying these non-existent “security deposits” for the units.
By January 2016, Mr Tan grew suspicious when he received no investment returns. When he confronted Tay about the matter, she failed to provide concrete answers.
To appease him, Tay prepared an “IOU document” dated 8 Jan 2016, incorporating information from Ong, who also signed it. This document was designed to convince Mr Tan that Ong would repay the money owed to him, providing false reassurance.
Mr Tan and Tay ended their relationship in March 2017. On 11 Dec 2019, Mr Tan contacted OrangeTee directly and learned that none of the transactions listed on the OTP forms were legitimate.
He filed a police report the following day. Officers arrested both offenders in June 2022.
Ong has since made restitution of S$10,000 to Mr Tan. Court documents did not disclose whether Tay and Ong remain married to each other.
Ong and Tay will be sentenced in July 2025.
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