Tan, who cheated victims of S$12,650 in total, also duped other people after convincing them that she had room stays at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) hotel for sale. — Photo by eskay lim on Unsplash
SINGAPORE: After incurring significant debts due to excessive spending, a woman decided to cheat her online male acquaintances by claiming her family members were facing financial woes.
Vanessa Faye Tan Jiewen, 27, who cheated victims of S$12,650 in total, also duped other people after convincing them that she had room stays at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) hotel for sale.
Tan was jailed for six months on Wednesday after she pleaded guilty to five cheating charges involving S$8,850 in total. Seven other charges involving the remaining amount were considered during sentencing.
She has made no restitution, and the prosecution did not disclose the amount of debts she had incurred.
Between July and August 2021, Tan met one of her victims on an online live streaming platform called Elelive.
She lied to the 26-year-old man that her mother was in hospital and she needed S$4,000 from him. He believed her and transferred the money to her bank account.
In September 2021, she cheated a 59-year-old man whom she had met via Facebook earlier. She contacted him and lied that her family was in debt, prompting him to transfer S$2,000 to her bank account.
Tan contacted the man again later that month, this time claiming she was involved in an accident. He transferred another S$1,000 to her soon after.
In an unrelated case, Tan was an MBS member who received complimentary hotel room stays at the integrated resort, Deputy Public Prosecutor Vincent Ong said.
Tan knew that the complimentary stays were not transferable under the terms and conditions of the membership, and could not be sold to or occupied by third parties who are not registered with MBS as guests.
Despite this, she offered to sell hotel room stays at MBS on ecommerce platform Carousell and cheated two more people of S$1,850 in total after they expressed their interest in the stays.
DPP Ong said: “The accused did not intend to provide the intended hotel room stays as she knew that she was not allowed to sell her complimentary hotel rooms stays, but instead intended to get money from persons interested in the hotel room stays to pay off her debts.”
Tan was arrested on March 30, 2022. Court documents did not state how Tan’s offences had come to light.
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined. – The Straits Times (Singapore)/Asia News Network
