SINGAPORE – A total of 210 people are being investigated for their suspected involvement in scams following a police operation from Dec 31 to Jan 15.
In a statement on Jan 16, the police said the two-week operation involved officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven police land divisions.
The suspects are believed to be involved in more than 745 cases of scams, including e-commerce scams, job scams and investment scams, where victims reportedly lost over $4.22 million, said the police.
The 210 people – 67 women and 143 men, aged between 15 and 83 – are being investigated for the alleged offences of cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence.
With effect from
Dec 30
, 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, providing SIM cards or providing Singpass credentials will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.
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 also face restrictions on banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further facilitation of scams.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit
www.scamshield.gov.sg
Anyone with information on scams may call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at
www.police.gov.sg/i-witness