SINGAPORE: A man who was in debt to both licensed and unlicensed moneylenders agreed to receive and withdraw money for two men who showed up near his home in exchange for payment.
He received and withdrew a total of S$113,800 (US$89,800), of which about S$74,000 was from an 88-year-old victim of a government official impersonation scam.
Despite being arrested and charged, he entered into another arrangement for "fast cash", and went on to handle about S$331,000 in scam proceeds.
On Tuesday (Feb 24), Lim Kim Chuan, a 33-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years' jail and fined S$23,000. If he cannot pay the fine, he will have to serve another one month and six days in jail in default.
Lim pleaded guilty to two counts of entering into an arrangement to handle criminal proceeds. A third charge was taken into consideration.
The court heard that Lim took loans from licensed and unlicensed moneylenders to finance payments for his car and other expenses.
By around August 2024, he had incurred "a lot of debt" including a sum of S$600 to a loan shark known as Alan.
Lim started to avoid the loan sharks and blocked them as he could not make the required repayments.
On Aug 30, 2024, two men approached Lim near his house and told them that they were working for Alan.
They said Lim owed more than S$5,000 due to the accumulated interest.
Lim said he could not repay it and offered his bank account to them for use. In response, the men asked Lim to receive money from them in his bank account, withdraw the money in full and hand over the cash to them. In exchange, they would clear his debt and pay him money.
Lim agreed.
The next day, while he was on his way to work, another man approached him to inform him that money had been transferred to his bank account.
He was instructed to withdraw the cash in full and keep it safe. Another man approached Lim a few days later with the same instructions.
A total of S$113,804 was transferred to Lim between Aug 31, 2024 and Sep 3, 2024, in sums ranging from S$15,000 to S$25,999.
Lim withdrew the money and handed it to an unidentified person at Yishun Swimming Complex on Sep 3, 2024. He received at least S$3,000 for his role.
Three days later, an 88-year-old Singaporean woman lodged a police report saying she had fallen for a scam and had transferred almost S$1 million to bank accounts.
Of this, a sum of S$73,804 was
Lim was identified as the account holder and asked to assist with investigations. He was then arrested, charged and released on bail.
Despite this, Lim agreed to a second arrangement in January 2025.
A friend of his asked him if he wanted to earn fast cash and added him to a chat group titled "Dollars Only (4)". The group had three other members, who went by the usernames: Kong Long, Mushroom and Labubu.
Lim received his instructions from this chat group. He would be told to meet up with an unknown individual at a location to collect cash.
They would identify each other by matching the serial number of a specific S$2 note as the passcode.
Once he had the cash, Lim would deliver it by hand that same day to another person at another location.
Lim agreed to this second illegal arrangement as he was "desperately in need of cash" to repay his debt of S$10,000 to S$20,000 to unlicensed moneylenders.
For each time he received and handed over cash, he would be given either 3 to 5 per cent of the amount involved, or a commission of around S$200 to S$300.
Between Apr 3, 2025 and May 7, 2025, Lim collected and delivered S$331,000 in cash. The amount comprised scam proceeds from five victims in their 50s or 60s in investment scams or a government official impersonation scam.
Lim suspected that the money was from illegal sources, but continued to perform his role.
He earned about S$20,000 from January to May 2025 for his involvement.
The victims realised they had been scammed and filed police reports, saying they had handed cash to a man.
Lim was identified via police camera footage, which captured him meeting the victims.
He was arrested and charged, but reoffended again by handling another S$20,000 in scam proceeds for the chat group member known as Labubu in late May 2025.
He was charged and this time his bail was revoked and he was remanded.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kiera Yu sought 28 to 33 months' jail and a fine of S$23,000 to disgorge his gains.
Ms Yu noted that
She said there is evidence that Lim was in an arrangement with a syndicate with multiple unknown individuals who gave instructions to him via a chat group and others receiving the cash.
For entering into an arrangement to receive and hand over cash from people in criminal conduct, Lim could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.
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He received and withdrew a total of S$113,800 (US$89,800), of which about S$74,000 was from an 88-year-old victim of a government official impersonation scam.
Despite being arrested and charged, he entered into another arrangement for "fast cash", and went on to handle about S$331,000 in scam proceeds.
On Tuesday (Feb 24), Lim Kim Chuan, a 33-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years' jail and fined S$23,000. If he cannot pay the fine, he will have to serve another one month and six days in jail in default.
Lim pleaded guilty to two counts of entering into an arrangement to handle criminal proceeds. A third charge was taken into consideration.
THE CASE
The court heard that Lim took loans from licensed and unlicensed moneylenders to finance payments for his car and other expenses.
By around August 2024, he had incurred "a lot of debt" including a sum of S$600 to a loan shark known as Alan.
Lim started to avoid the loan sharks and blocked them as he could not make the required repayments.
On Aug 30, 2024, two men approached Lim near his house and told them that they were working for Alan.
They said Lim owed more than S$5,000 due to the accumulated interest.
Lim said he could not repay it and offered his bank account to them for use. In response, the men asked Lim to receive money from them in his bank account, withdraw the money in full and hand over the cash to them. In exchange, they would clear his debt and pay him money.
Lim agreed.
The next day, while he was on his way to work, another man approached him to inform him that money had been transferred to his bank account.
He was instructed to withdraw the cash in full and keep it safe. Another man approached Lim a few days later with the same instructions.
A total of S$113,804 was transferred to Lim between Aug 31, 2024 and Sep 3, 2024, in sums ranging from S$15,000 to S$25,999.
Lim withdrew the money and handed it to an unidentified person at Yishun Swimming Complex on Sep 3, 2024. He received at least S$3,000 for his role.
Three days later, an 88-year-old Singaporean woman lodged a police report saying she had fallen for a scam and had transferred almost S$1 million to bank accounts.
Of this, a sum of S$73,804 was
Lim was identified as the account holder and asked to assist with investigations. He was then arrested, charged and released on bail.
THE SECOND ARRANGEMENT
Despite this, Lim agreed to a second arrangement in January 2025.
A friend of his asked him if he wanted to earn fast cash and added him to a chat group titled "Dollars Only (4)". The group had three other members, who went by the usernames: Kong Long, Mushroom and Labubu.
Lim received his instructions from this chat group. He would be told to meet up with an unknown individual at a location to collect cash.
They would identify each other by matching the serial number of a specific S$2 note as the passcode.
Once he had the cash, Lim would deliver it by hand that same day to another person at another location.
Lim agreed to this second illegal arrangement as he was "desperately in need of cash" to repay his debt of S$10,000 to S$20,000 to unlicensed moneylenders.
For each time he received and handed over cash, he would be given either 3 to 5 per cent of the amount involved, or a commission of around S$200 to S$300.
Between Apr 3, 2025 and May 7, 2025, Lim collected and delivered S$331,000 in cash. The amount comprised scam proceeds from five victims in their 50s or 60s in investment scams or a government official impersonation scam.
Lim suspected that the money was from illegal sources, but continued to perform his role.
He earned about S$20,000 from January to May 2025 for his involvement.
The victims realised they had been scammed and filed police reports, saying they had handed cash to a man.
Lim was identified via police camera footage, which captured him meeting the victims.
He was arrested and charged, but reoffended again by handling another S$20,000 in scam proceeds for the chat group member known as Labubu in late May 2025.
He was charged and this time his bail was revoked and he was remanded.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kiera Yu sought 28 to 33 months' jail and a fine of S$23,000 to disgorge his gains.
Ms Yu noted that
She said there is evidence that Lim was in an arrangement with a syndicate with multiple unknown individuals who gave instructions to him via a chat group and others receiving the cash.
For entering into an arrangement to receive and hand over cash from people in criminal conduct, Lim could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.
Continue reading...