SINGAPORE: Three men were allegedly involved in a scam where unsuspecting victims handed over around S$20,000 in cash and a watch worth some $35,000 in exchange for what they assumed were gold bars.
Police said in a statement that at least one of the bars turned out to be fake and a victim, who was not named, found out the truth when he or she tried to authenticate it at a goldsmith shop.
One of the three men, Wilderic Chan Weibin, 22 was charged on July 16 with one count each of cheating and being in possession of a weapon in a public place.
Police said the other two men, who are both 25 years old, are helping the authorities in their investigations.
According to court documents, Chan allegedly worked with two others to cheat a man at a Serangoon Central multi-storey carpark at around 10.30pm on July 10.
Chan is accused of duping the man into believing that he was selling him a 100g gold bar worth $9,800 and the man then allegedly handed over the money.
In their statement, the police said that between July 11 and 14, officers received at least three reports from victims who engaged in transactions via online marketplace Carousell over the purchase of gold bars, only to discover later they had been been scammed.
Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Central Police Division arrested three men on July 15. The officers also seized items including at least $3,800 in cash and several documents.
Court documents also stated that Chan was in a lock-up at the Police Cantonment Complex in New Bridge Road at around 3.45am on July 15 when he allegedly had in his possession a karambit knife, which has a curved blade resembling a claw.
His case has been adjourned to July 23.
If convicted of cheating, Chan can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
For being in possession of a weapon in public, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and receive at least six strokes of the cane. - The Straits Times/ANN
