Luxury Goods Fugitive Couple to Be Remanded for 1 More Week As Prosecutors Need Time to Find Stolen Funds

The luxury good fugitive couple, Pi Jiapeng and Pansuk Siriwipa, have been remanded for another week by a district court on Friday (12 Aug), as the prosecution asked for more time to investigate.

This is an understandable request; the luxury goods scam is a high-profile case that involves more than 180 police reports filed against two companies, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, for failing to deliver the luxury goods orders despite receiving upfront payment from its customers.

Just thinking about the paperwork the reports alone have generated is enough to give anyone a headache.

The 26-year-old Singaporean man and his 27-year-old Thai wife face three charges each—two counts of conspiring to cheat and one count of illegal departure from Singapore.

The illegal proceeds of the luxury goods scam are estimated to be around $32 million to $50 million, including unsold luxury items.

During the initial hearing, the prosecution stated that more time was needed to track down the whereabouts of the funds received by the two companies.

The couple’s respective defence counsels did not object to the prosecution’s application, which was consequently granted by District Judge Brenda Tan who remanded the couple for another week.

The most interesting (or funniest) part about the court session was that the district judge agreed with the prosecution that the couple were proven flight risks after the escape stunt they pulled. 

It’s better to keep them in jail than let them escape on bail again. 

Pi is represented by Ms Bhargavan Sujatha of Gavan Law Practice LLC, while Pansuk is represented by Mr Johannes Hadi of Eugene Thuraisingam LLP.

As much as each person is accorded their right to have a defence counsel, does the fugitive couple even have actual funds to pay their lawyers?

It’s an honest question, because it’s hard to tell if the money came from legitimate means.

The Timeline Thus Far

According to the provided victim statements, the luxury goods scam that was run under the guise of the two legitimate companies, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, began as far back as November 2021.

The scheme is fairly simple in theory: the couple sold luxury items at a markedly lower price than the current market value to lure in customers. Since luxury items were limited, seen as luxury symbols, and thereby scarce, they would always fetch a high price.

In the beginning, they would fulfil the orders and deliver the luxury goods within a month or less to gain the customers’ trust.

Slowly but surely, they gained a huge customer base and constantly encouraged them to buy more. A portion of their customers were resellers of luxury goods— people who buy luxury items at lower prices and then resell it at market value in order to earn a profit.

To increase their credibility, the couple even opened a physical shop in Tanjong Pagar and applied for a registered licence as a precious stones and precious metals trader.

Starting from early to mid-May, the couple stopped fulfilling the orders, instead coming up with excuses that the Ukrainian Crisis had caused shipping delays or that the custom tax would take three months to process and resolve.

When the customers threatened to lodge a police report against them, the couple said that they would withhold the luxury goods from anyone who dared to do so.

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Pi was eventually arrested on 27 June for his suspected involvement in cheated offences.

His passport was also impounded by the police, but he was released on bail the next day.

(T’was a mistake.)

Pansuk, who was assisting the local authorities in the ongoing investigations then, surrendered her passport on 30 June.

However, on 4 July, the fugitive couple stowed away in a container compartment at the back of a lorry and escaped to Malaysia through the Tuas Checkpoint.

Arrest warrants and Interpol red notices were subsequently issued.

The accomplices who abetted their escape, Mohamad Fazli Abdul Rahman and the lorry driver Mohamed Alias have already been charged with conspiring to arrange for the couple’s illegal departure from Singapore.

The two Malaysian men have recently indicated that they wish to plead guilty. They have been detained in Singapore due to the high risk of them fleeing the country.

After absconding for 37 days, the fugitive couple were finally arrested at a Bookme Hotel near an AEON mall in Bukit Indah, Johor Bahru, by three Malaysian Royal Police officers in plainclothes.

You can watch this video on how they were caught:

On the same day (11 July), they were handed over to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) at Woodlands Checkpoint.

The SPF had received a tip from the Royal Thai Police that the couple may be temporarily lodging at a Johor Bahru hotel. SPF liaised with its Malaysian law enforcement counterpart, which led to the arrest of the couple.

They are set to return to court on 26 August.

It appears that there is still a long way to go for this case.

Pi and Pansuk may face up to 10 years in jail and a fine for each count of cheating.

For fleeing the country illegally, they can be jailed up to six months and fined.

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Featured Image: YouTube (CNA)