---
title: "Man pays $500 for phone that can't be switched on, finds out it's counterfeit: 2 arrested in Geylang"
url: "/singapore-seen/man-pays-500-for-phone-that-cant-be-switched-on-finds-out-its-counterfeit-2-arrested"
published: "2024-05-05T02:36:41.000Z"
updated: "2024-05-05T02:36:41.000Z"
section: "Singapore Seen"
authors: ["Ong Su Mann"]
tags: ["cheating","counterfeit","handphone","arrested"]
---

# Man pays $500 for phone that can't be switched on, finds out it's counterfeit: 2 arrested in Geylang

Two men, aged 41 and 55, were arrested for their suspected involvement in a case of cheating.

The police received a report on April 29 that a man was allegedly cheated by the 41-year-old suspect who had approached him and sold him a branded mobile phone at $500.

After the transaction, the buyer placed a SIM card into the phone but was unable to switch it on.

The buyer brought the phone to an authorised retailer and ascertained that it was a counterfeit.

Through follow-up investigations, officers from Jurong Police Division established the identity of the suspect and arrested him together with his 55-year-old accomplice on May 3 in Geylang.

Several mobile phones and accessories that were purportedly counterfeit, fake invoices and cash amounting to about $1,440 were seized.

![](https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/stomp/4d3dad131bb8635722d88ec21d8e439a74b1f263e99068afb97d337d7c97ec7a)

The duo were charged in court on May 4 with cheating with common intention, which is punishable with an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, and a fine.