During our grandparents’ days, cupid’s arrow was in the form of a matchmaker aunty.
Fast forward to the 2000s, we can simply install a dating app or engage the help of a dating agency to meet our potential half.
For Madam Goh Seng Mui, a ‘deity’ helped to find her potential husband. And in her case, the ‘deity’ turned out to be Ms Soh Chih Hui…a teenager then.
Cheated Victim Close to $50,000 in 2015
On 30 September, Ms Soh was convicted after a trial of one count of cheating the victim out of $49,600 over nine occasions between April to October in 2015.
Ms Soh had admitted her crimes to the police, but denied during the trial that she took any money from Madam Goh or helped her to find a husband.
Madam Goh testified that she could not recall the exact amount of money she had given Ms Soh as a long period of time had gone by and she did not keep any records.
So, what happened?
Victim was Friend of Ms Soh’s Mother
Madam Goh, then 56, was the primary school friend of Ms Soh’s mother. Her mother had introduced Madam Goh to Ms Soh.
The victim also worked for Ms Soh’s father at his bak kut teh stall.
According to TODAYonline, Ms Soh Chih Hui, who was 18 years old then, told Madam Goh that she had found a potential husband for her. She showed the victim a photograph of the man from her mobile phone.
Ms Soh told Madam Goh that the man was a 51-year-old bank employee. The man earned $7,000 per month and owned a temple in Changi.
Wait, why would someone work in a bank and also own a tem-
Victim was a Superstitious Person
Ms Soh told her that she needed to acquire good karma before she could be with her prospective husband.
In order to acquire good karma, Madam Goh needed to chant prayers, perform rituals and make offerings.
And here’s the thing: Madam Goh was also told to give Ms Soh money for cosmetics, branded shoes and clothing.
Madam Goh then went to temples to pray regularly. She also attended religious practice sessions, even changing her name for good luck.
So why had she believed Ms Soh?
Deputy Public Prosecutor, Mr Eric Hu, said that Madam Goh was “a superstitious person” and “plainly naive and simple-minded” who only had a secondary school education and worked odd jobs her entire life.
This was something which Ms Soh exploited.
Whenever Ms Soh demanded money from Madam Goh, she would appear to the victim as a child deity, where she spoke in a high-pitched and child-like voice.
On other occasions, Ms Soh spoke in a low voice and appeared as another deity named “Fu Wang”.
Madam Goh testified that she was “very frightened” and would give Ms Soh whatever amount she asked for during these occasions.
The prosecution said Ms Soh had treated Madam Goh “akin to the accused’s personal ATM.”
Ms Soh would call Madam Goh whenever she wanted money, even when it was in the middle of the night.
Madam Goh recounted giving $10,000 to Ms Soh in a toilet cubicle at Tampines One mall on one occasion. She also borrowed $19,000 from her brother.
Madam Goh’s brother testified that she couldn’t reveal the reason for the loan, or she would be revealing “the secret of heaven”.
In addition, Madam Goh also gave some of her salary which she earned at Ms Soh’s father’s stall to her.
Lodged a Police Report when Victim was Told to Sell her HDB flat
Madam Goh realised that she had been cheated when Ms Soh told her to sell her HDB flat in January 2016.
She eventually lodged a police report about the incident.
Ms Soh will return to court on 3 December to be sentenced, and she could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined for cheating.
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!):
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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