Prosecution calls for stiff jail sentence for Jover Chew
Former Mobile Air owner Jover Chew leaving the State Courts after pleading guilty. His bail has been extended and he will face sentencing on Nov 30. Photo: Don Wong
SINGAPORE — Pressing for a stiff jail term of 36 months for Mobile Air director Jover Chew Chiew Loon, the prosecution today (Nov 16) highlighted his defiance of authority and his role as mastermind of a criminal enterprise that operated under the guise of a mobile phone shop.
“(Chew) is the brains, architect and engineer behind Mobile Air...(which uses) a physical shop space in a well-known shopping centre to cheat unsuspecting customers, many of whom were foreigners, of their hard-earned money. This scam was deliberately designed by the accused who further employed workers to be involved in his conspiracy,” argued Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Eunice Lim.
Chew, 33, was today convicted of 12 charges of cheating, including one count of criminal intimidation and one count of insulting behaviour. Sixteen more charges were taken into consideration. He will be sentenced on Nov 30.
Chew’s charges were more than the sum total faced by his four accomplices. Koh Guan Seng, 38; Kam Kok Keong, 31; Lim Hong Ching, 34; and Kelvin Lim, 32, were sentenced last month to four to 14 months’ jail. The court heard that Chew and his accomplices tricked 26 unsuspecting customers into paying S$16,599 for mobile devices.
They quoted attractive prices and altered invoices after deals had been inked to extract more money from their victims. Chew would then pocket 60 per cent of the profits, the court was told.
In one case, where a victim from China had obtained a refund order of S$1,010 from the Small Claims Tribunal, Chew had dropped a bag of coins amounting to S$547 for her to pick up, while he video-recorded the scene. For this, he was convicted of using insulting behaviour in a public place with intent to cause distress to his victim.
In another case, Chew had threatened a 41-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker with a fine, and cancellation of his work permit, if the victim did not purchase a warranty card for S$600.
Chew fancied himself beyond the reach of local authorities, charged DPP Lim. He ignored letters from the Consumers Association of Singapore, failed to attend hearings at the Small Claims Tribunal and even brushed off orders made against his now-defunct shop, she said. His actions cast a shadow over the Republic’s tourism and retail sectors, with the People’s Republic of China issuing an advisory in June to warn its citizens of fraud encountered by tourists shopping for electronic devices here, said DPP Lim.
In mitigation, Chew’s lawyer Matthew Kurian said his client is remorseful and has made full restitution to the victims. Pleading for 24 months’ jail, the lawyer said Chew is undergoing treatment for depression and his wife has filed for divorce in the wake of the high-profile saga.
Mobile Air gained notoriety last November when a video of a Vietnamese tourist begging for a refund went viral online.
