A scam is common, but scamming your own mother?
That’s something even police officers would go, “Simi sai?!”
Account Set Up Without Her Knowledge
Wong Wei Jie, 28, was in debt after borrowing money from unlicensed moneylenders. This then prompted him to scheme against his own mother.
In addition to his debts, he also owed her money after he borrowed some to repay his other debts in 2018. To “facilitate with the repayment of his loan”, he then told his mother that creating an internet banking account would make the process easier.
In order to create the account, he obtained her POSB card and noted down the card number. His mother had earlier expressed her discomfort for internet banking, but he continued with creating an account anyway.
He set up the account’s username and password without informing her. Once created, he also ensured that the internet banking token was sent directly to him.
This made executing his crime much easier as he was in full control of her funds.
Transferred to His Account
On 7 November 2018, he then transferred $4,000 to his own DBS Multiplier account.
According to TODAYonline, it was noted that Wong had repaid his mother half of the amount that he owed her. However, this only happened on Wednesday (30 September) evening.
The Deputy Public Prosecutor said that this was belated, and questioned if Wong was genuinely remorseful.
His lawyer explained that in order to even pay this sum, Wong had borrowed money from his friends to do so.
Maybe his friends just got their pay on one day before the court hearing lah.
He then continued on to explain that Wong did not do this on purpose, and instead is in a very bad place at the moment. It was also revealed that Wong was formerly a Grab driver and earned very little income. He is also currently unemployed.
I don’t know about you, but could this mean that many people can accidentally scam their parents’ hard-earned money/. #justsaying
Consequences
Every action has its consequences, Wong will later find out.
His relationship with his family is now strained.
His lawyer ended off with telling the court that his client was not making excuses for his actions, and is deeply regretful of everything that he has done. He is also disappointed in himself as he had committed this crime against his own mother.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of unauthorised access to computer material and another charge which was considered for sentencing.
On Thursday (1 October), Wong was initially sentenced to three months of jail and a $2,000 fine. As he could not afford to pay the fine, he was given an additional week behind bars.
To know more about scams in Singapore, watch these videos we’ve done in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force (and also subscribe to our YouTube channel for more informative and meaningful videos, please!):
Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:
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