News

Teenager Allegedly Involved in $250,000 Investment Scam Through Online Trading Platforms

2021-07-24 , 2:15 pm

If I were to ask you to picture a scammer, you’d likely think of a middle-aged man or woman hunched over a computer with 55 mobile phones on his desk.

But just as Inception wasn’t a documentary, crime movies don’t always paint an accurate portrait of these swindlers.

Anyone can be a scammer, even a 17-year-old teen who should be doing his homework.

Victims Lost $250,000 in Investment Scams Through Online Trading Platforms

Between May and August last year, the police received several reports about an alleged investment scam.

Victims said it all started when they befriended someone they didn’t know online. The scammers then allegedly convinced them to use online trading platforms to make investments.

According to a police media release, victims were told that to invest through these platforms, they first had to deposit their funds into specific bank accounts, which they did.

After making the deposit, they discovered, much to their dismay, that they couldn’t withdraw the money from the online trading platforms, meaning their money was lost.

In total, victims claimed to have been scammed of more than S$250,000.

If you’re afraid of getting scammed, watch this video and learn how to protect yourself:

Scammer Was a 17YO Teen

When officers from the Woodlands Police Division carried out follow-up investigations, it led them to a 17-year-old teenage boy.

“[The] teenager had allegedly opened and sold numerous bank accounts, with the knowledge that the bank accounts would be used for illicit gains,” the police said.

Officers arrested the boy on Wednesday (21 July), and it was discovered that he had committed other offences in the past.

Harassed Debtors On Behalf of Loan Sharks

As we all know, loan sharks are the second worst type of shark.

They throw eggs and paint on your door, and have the patience of a six-month-old puppy.

It turns out that the 17-year-old had worked for some of these loan sharks in 2019, harassing debtors in multiple HDB blocks with various acts, including splashing paint on their front doors.

He is also accused of stealing nearly S$200 worth of alcoholic drinks from a supermarket on two occasions last year in March.

Additionally, he’s believed to have been involved in a fight at the void deck of Block 808, Yishun Ring Road earlier this year.

Long List of Charges

As a result, the teen’s list of charges is longer than the list of restrictions for Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).

As of now, he’s facing:

eight counts of acting on behalf of unlicensed moneylenders
two counts of theft
one count of disturbing the peace by fighting in a public place
three counts under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking, and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act

Can Juveniles Be Jailed?

So, will this teen go to prison?

According to Singapore Legal Advice, teenagers under the age of 14 will not be sentenced to imprisonment for any offence committed.

Interestingly, the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (MACR) is 10, meaning a child in Singapore under 10 cannot be held criminally responsible for his or her actions.

Those aged between 14 to 16 will generally not be sentenced to jail either, and will likely be placed on probation, required to perform community service, or sent to a reformative training centre or juvenile rehabilitation centre.

This means that the 17-year-old scammer, as young as he is, can be imprisoned.

For each charge under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, the teen can be sentenced up to 10 years in jail and fined up to S$500,000.

A pre-trial conference will take place on 27 July.