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2 women arrested over China officials impersonation scam, victim handed over $1m

Close-Up Of Handcuffs Over Gray Background
Two women have been arrested over a China officials impersonation scam involving over $1 million (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — Two women, aged 19 and 30, have been arrested for their suspected role in a China officials impersonation scam involving over $1 million in July, the same day a police report was filed about the alleged offence.

The police said in a press statement on Thursday night (29 October) that a female victim had purportedly received unsolicited phone calls from unknown persons claiming to be Chinese authorities.

“She was purportedly deceived into thinking that she was being investigated for a serious crime and was then instructed by the scammers to hand over $1 million in cash over a period of five days to a woman,” the police added.

Through investigations, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) established the identity of the 19-year-old woman and arrested her. Preliminary investigations revealed that the 19-year-old is believed to have acted on the instruction of the scammers to collect the cash from the victim.

The cash was allegedly handed over to the older woman who was then arrested.

Investigations against the younger woman are ongoing.

The 30-year-old woman will be charged in court on Friday with assisting another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct.

If found guilty of the offence under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Offences (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, she can be jailed up to 10 years, or fined up to $500,000, or both.

“The police would like to warn members of the public not to collect money from other individuals on the behalf of unknown persons, especially those claiming to be officers from law enforcement agencies. Such callers are most likely scammers, and members of the public who act on their instructions may unwittingly have committed a crime by assisting to launder money from criminal activities,” said the police.

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