Couple found guilty of cheating three victims over talismans
The couple who scammed three victims into believing that they were buying talismans blessed by overseas spiritual masters were found guilty of conspiring to cheat on Wednesday (19 July) in the State Courts.
Singaporean Ong Choon Lin, 67, and his wife, Ng Kim Yew, 61, a Singapore permanent resident, were convicted on 20 counts of conspiring to cheat the victims between 2004 and 2015. Ng has 23 similar charges to be taken into consideration for sentencing, while Ong has 18.
According to media reports, the victims would confide in Ng about their problems and Ng would ask the victims to procure a talisman through her. She would tell her victims that each talisman was written, drawn and chanted over by spiritual masters from Thailand and Tibet.
The victims handed over between a few hundred dollars and $38,800 for each talisman on several occasions. Ng also asked for valuables such as jewellery and watches in exchange for the talismans.
The couple duped their victims of nearly $490,000 in total. The victims received their talismans in sealed packages and were told not to open them or else they would lose their powers.
However, a handwriting analyst’s forensic report produced during the trial concluded that it was “highly probable” that all the talismans and documents examined were written by Ong. Even the annual letters purportedly sent by the spiritual leaders were written in Ong’s handwriting.
In her brief grounds of decision, District Judge (DJ) Lee Poh Choo said that the prosecution’s witnesses testimonies were consistent while pointing out the “glaring inconsistencies” in Ng and Ong’s testimonies. “Both [Ong and Ng] shifted and changed their versions in many aspects,” said DJ Lee.
The DJ pointed out that Ng had stated the fees she charged the victims for the talismans in her police statement but said in the trial that the talismans were free gifts. She later said in the trial that the talismans were part of a package deal which included beauty products and other services. Ng later claimed that the price list for the talismans were set by the grandmaster and she had no say over it.
“This contradicted her defence that she gave her followers the talisman made by the grandmaster without any charge,” said DJ Lee.
Ng also described several methods through which she sent money to the grandmasters. However, she did not call on the spiritual leaders to corroborate her assertions, which made her “less believable”, said DJ Lee.
In the initial stages of the trial, the couple denied that Ong wrote the talismans, but eventually admitted that Ong had written some words at the behest of the spiritual leaders.
Ong later admitted to writing the talismans for more than 10 years but claimed to have just been helping his wife, whom he said was illiterate. Ong wrote all the annual letters that the victims believed were from the grandmasters. Ong also denied being involved in the transactions regarding the talismans.
However, DJ Lee highlighted the video recordings showing Ong talking to followers about the talismans and the annual letters. He was also present when his wife told followers that the grandmaster wrote every word that was on the talismans.
In court and his police statement, Ong had also admitted that he knew his wife misrepresented to her followers that the grandmaster wrote the talisman, said DPP Lee.
“There was overwhelming evidence against [Ong and Ng]. They conspired to hide from victims that it was Ong and not some powerful spiritual master who wrote the talisman and the annual letters,” said DJ Lee
For cheating and abetment to cheat, Ng and Ong could be jailed up to 10 years and/or fined per charge.
