15 months’ jail for man who posed as lawyer to cheat 2 women
A Singaporean man posed as a lawyer and cheated two women into paying him "legal fees" which he used to fund his holidays and settle his debts.
SINGAPORE — A Singaporean man posed as a lawyer and cheated two women into paying him a total of S$23,398 in “legal fees,” which he used to fund his holidays and settle his debts.
On Tuesday (March 26), Wong Antonio Aromin, 67, was jailed for 15 months after he pleaded guilty to six counts of cheating, with 12 other charges taken into consideration.
Wong had met his first victim, Ms Phang Sok Kian Audrey, through a mutual friend in April 2016. He learnt that Ms Phang, a widow, was facing legal issues relating to the estate of her late husband.
Wong told Ms Phang that he was a qualified lawyer and offered to represent her in legal matters. They signed a Warrant to Act a month later which allowed Wong to act as her legal counsel for matters relating to her late husband’s estate.
Over the next four months, Wong would text Ms Phang to say that he had represented her in court proceedings. He also made multiple requests for her to transfer money to him as payment for his “legal services”. She transferred a total of S$19,898 to Wong’s bank account on fifteen occasions between May and August that year.
The court heard that Wong used the money to pay for his holiday expenses and settle his debts.
He was eventually arrested on September 29, 2016 after Ms Phang reported him to the police.
However, Wong returned to his cheating ways while he was on bail.
In July last year, Wong was approached by Ms Song Li Siah, then 55, at People’s Park Centre. Seeing that Wong was dressed like a lawyer, Ms Song asked if he could help her with a court case relating to a salary dispute between her and her former employer Regal Motors.
Wong agreed to do so, but suggested that he work on her case during his free time as it would cost more if he were to deal with it through his law firm.
A few days later, he asked Ms Song to pay him S$1,500 for “legal fees” incurred from writing an affidavit and filing an application for summons.
He convinced Ms Song to pay him a total of S$3,500 before she eventually reported him to the police on August 5, 2018.
Calling him a “recalcitrant cheat”, District Judge Kessler Soh said that Wong had demonstrated a degree of planning by cheating his first and second victims over a period of four months and a few days, respectively.
He agreed with the prosecution that Wong should be jailed for 15 months.
For cheating, Wong could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined for each charge.
