Victim's family calls 999 after M'sian man collects over $8,000 in investment scam
A 24-year-old Malaysian man will be charged in court on Feb 25 for his suspected involvement in an investment scam.
The police said in a Feb 24 news release that they received a report of an investment scam involving losses of more than $8,000.
The victim had been added to an investment group chat on WhatsApp without solicitation, where purported investment opportunities were introduced to him.
To begin investing, he was instructed to download an application from the Apple App Store and create an account. After encountering technical difficulties during the account creation process, he sought help from one of the contacts in the chat group.
He was subsequently told to contact a designated helpline and later directed to hand over cash to an unknown person who falsely identified himself as an authorised company representative.
On Feb 23, officers from Woodlands Police Division arrested the man after he allegedly attempted to collect additional money from the same victim.
The victim's family had called 999 after sensing something was amiss.
Preliminary investigations by Anti-Scam Command officers revealed that the man had allegedly been tasked by unknown persons, believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect cash from victims and pass it to other unknown individuals.
He will be charged with assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years' jail, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.
The police said they have observed an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash and valuables from scam victims. Since May 2025, more than 50 Malaysians have been arrested for facilitating such activities.
With the passing of the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill on Nov 4, 2025, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, which can go up to 24 strokes.
Scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes. This includes certain money-laundering offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.
Under the facility restriction framework, individuals involved in mule-related offences – whether they are under investigation and assessed to be at risk, or have been warned, issued with composition sums, prosecuted, or convicted – may face restrictions on banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further facilitation of scams.
The police reminded members of the public not to transfer money or hand over valuables to unknown persons and to verify investment opportunities through official resources such as the Financial Institutions Directory, Register of Representatives, and Investor Alert List on the MAS website.
Those in doubt can call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 or dial 999 for urgent police assistance.
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