Cambodian scam centre targeting Singaporeans: No bail for brother and girlfriend of suspected syndicate leader

SINGAPORE: A district court on Thursday (Oct 2) ordered no bail for the brother and girlfriend of an alleged syndicate leader who purportedly led a group based in Cambodia targeting Singaporeans in scams and laundering the proceeds in Malaysia.

The losses from the scams amount to tens of millions of dollars, a prosecutor told the court in seeking no bail for the pair.

Ng Wei Kang, 33, and Christy Neo Wei En, 29, both Singaporeans, have been remanded since Sep 11.

They face one charge each of being a member of a locally linked organised criminal group around Sep 9, with at least 11 others.

Ng's charge states that he knew that one of the purposes of the group was to obtain financial benefits via the commission of serious offences by its members in Singapore.

Neo's charge states that she knew the group's members committed cheating offences in Singapore.

DPP ARGUES FOR NO BAIL

Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheah Wenjie told the court that the pair, along with a third co-accused Lester Ng Jing Hai, have a strong nexus or connection to the syndicate leadership, who is still at large.

There is a risk of collusion or witness tampering if the accused are let out on bail.

Secondly, the syndicate relies on cryptocurrency to transact and disburse their criminal proceeds, and such currency is difficult to pre-emptively detect, said Mr Cheah.

This would allow the syndicate to surreptitiously provide funds to the accused persons, to help them abscond if they are allowed to go on bail, he said.

"There are large amounts of criminal proceeds involved. The resultant punishment is likely to be lengthy. This gives added incentive for the accused persons to abscond," said Mr Cheah.

He said the offences are non-bailable.

Ng is the brother of a suspected syndicate leader, who is still at large.

"Preliminary investigations reveal that Ng is intimately involved in high-level operations of the syndicate as well. So, the scam operations in Cambodia, as well as the money-laundering operations that primarily take place in Malaysia," said Mr Cheah.

He said the syndicate in Cambodia targets Singapore victims and the money is then sent to bank accounts or crypto wallets procured in Malaysia.

The prosecutor alleged that Ng is involved in both sides.

As for Neo, she is the girlfriend of the same suspected syndicate leader and has received "substantial upkeep from him directly, including her living expenses as well as a driver or bodyguard that was hired for her", said the prosecutor.

He said preliminary investigations show that she is involved in the syndicate's operations by recruiting scam callers for the syndicate and is also involved in moving around the syndicate leader's cryptocurrency.

"Although Neo is a Singaporean, she is not close to her family in Singapore and has no residence here," said Mr Cheah.

Instead, Neo lives in a property in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, he said.

As for the third co-accused, Lester Ng, preliminary investigations show he is a high-ranking member of both the syndicate's scam and money-laundering operations, said Mr Cheah.

He faces a charge similar to the other two.

Mr Cheah said the investigations also suggest that Lester Ng is involved in at least 40 scam cases, involving a total of more than S$5 million (US$3.9 million) in losses.

Ng and Neo were represented by Mr Cory Wong and Mr Josephus Tan from Invictus Law. Mr Wong asked for the chance to take full instructions before he can "meaningfully put forth any bail application", as his clients have been remanded for the past few weeks.

"I think we can, at best, inform my two clients that their families are very concerned. They are here in court," he said.

Lester Ng, a 29-year-old Singaporean man, was represented by Mr Selvarajan Balamurugan from Regal Law, who argued for bail, saying the court has the discretion to release him on bail.

He said his client has been remanded for some time and would have provided statements along with his co-accused.

This would eliminate any risk of collusion or witness tampering, and stringent bail conditions like tagging can be imposed.

District Judge Brenda Tan ordered no bail to be given for all three of them, as there is reason to believe the accused trio are flight risks and that there is a risk of collusion. 

However, she said the defence lawyers are at liberty to apply for a bail review in future.

The prosecutor said preliminary investigations showed that multiple victims had fallen prey to the syndicate, with losses amounting to tens of millions of dollars.

The trio were arrested as part of a joint operation between Singapore law enforcement and Cambodian police.

According to a police news release last month, the Singapore Police Force and Cambodian National Police disrupted the criminal syndicate perpetrating government official impersonation scams in Singapore.

Eight Singaporean men, one Singaporean woman, two Malaysian men and one Filipino woman - believed to be syndicate members - were arrested in Singapore.

Such scams were reported since December 2024, where Singapore victims were deceived into losing large sums of money when scam callers impersonated bank staff and directed them to another scammer posing as a police officer or an official from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The victims would then be scammed into surrendering their bank account funds for investigations by transferring the money to bank accounts controlled by the syndicate.

The syndicate, which was secretly operating out of a scam centre in Phnom Penh, is believed to be responsible for at least 330 reported cases, involving losses of more than S$40 million, the police said.

"Based on preliminary findings, members of the syndicate travelled to Cambodia willingly and earned commissions for each successful scam they committed," the police said in their statement.

More than S$2.5 million in funds from bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets were seized in the operation, along with electronic devices and copies of scam scripts.

If convicted of being a member of a locally linked organised criminal group, the trio can be jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$100,000, or both.

They will return for further mentions of their cases later this month.