Man Who Used Warehouse as Factory to Print $18,500 Sentenced to Jail & 3 Strokes of the Cane

Earlier last year, a youth by the name of Muhammad Farhan Farus was investigated for the conspiracy of producing counterfeit notes.

After his laptop was retrieved by the police, another middle-aged suspect was brought to the police’s attention. The man had allegedly used a vacant warehouse as a “money printing factory” and printed a total of $18,500 in banknotes in five days.

The Crimes of Mahadi and Farhan

The other man involved in the crime, Mahadi Ab Latif, now aged 45, faces a total of six charges, including conspiring with Farhan to counterfeit currency notes, drug possession and drug use.

He was sentenced to six years and nine months in jail and three strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty on Monday (18 Jul).

According to the court documents, the defendant was working as a delivery driver at the time of his offence, and he became acquainted with Farhan at Halfway House.

Prior to this, Farhan was previously investigated by the police on the suspicion that he was counterfeiting currency notes.

When he retrieved his laptop that was used as evidence on 26 June 2021, he discovered that the image and template to print counterfeit currency notes was still intact.

Hence, he started to think about counterfeiting currency notes.

Clearly, he learned nothing after being investigated. 

On the same day, Farhan told Mahadi about his plans.

The defendant happened to pass by a vacant warehouse at Changi South Avenue 2 while he was at work and proposed that they could use the warehouse as a base for printing counterfeit bank notes.

Later that day, Farhan brought a printer, his laptop, and printing paper to print the counterfeit banknotes, while Mahadi cut out the money with a utility knife.

According to a statement that was issued by the police, they were alerted about the possible use of counterfeit currency note when a 64-year-old was suspected of using a counterfeit $100 note to buy a lottery ticket along Ubi Road.

Once the elder man was caught, the police went on to arrest Mahadi and Farhan.

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Investigation showed that between 28 June and 2 July 2021, the defendant and Farhan had printed 185 counterfeit $100 notes, all of which were later confiscated.

When the police raided the warehouse, they also found methamphetamine on the defendant’s person. His urine sample also showed traces of methamphetamine use.

As for Farhan, he has been charged with five counts after the incident. He alleges that he and the defendant conspired to print counterfeit currency notes and purportedly used said notes to buy aphrodisiacs in the Geylang area at around 9am on 2 July 2021.

He’s expected to plead guilty on 18 August.

The court didn’t reveal whether the 64-year-old man accused of betting with counterfeit currency notes would be charged with. His relationship with Farhan and Mahadi remains unknown.

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Featured Image: Singapore Police Force