More details on runaway couple behind alleged luxury goods scam given by Interpol

SINGAPORE — More information about the couple who had fled Singapore after allegedly failing to deliver luxury goods worth tens of millions to their customers was provided in Interpol notices published on Thursday (21 July).

Singapore authorities had identified the couple as 26-year-old Singaporean man Pi Jiapeng and his 27-year-old Thai wife, Pansuk Siriwipa. The duo had fled Singapore by hiding in a container compartment of a lorry on 4 July.

A 40-year-old Malaysian man, Mohamed Alias, was arrested and charged last Friday for aiding the fugitives in their escape. He was handed another charge on Friday.

Pi was born in Fujian, China, on 15 August 1995, according to the Interpol red notice issued for him while Pansuk was listed as being born in Roi Et, Thailand, on 16 October 1994 and is 1.64m tall.

According to Interpol, Pi faces one count of criminal conspiracy to commit cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property while Pansuk faces two similar counts.

At least 180 reports have been lodged with Singapore police since June against two companies, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, which the couple are associated with.

Their victims claimed that they made payments for luxury watches or bags to the companies, which then failed to deliver the goods.

Pi was arrested by the Singapore police on 27 June, and released on bail the next day with his passport impounded. Pansuk, who was assisting the police with their investigation, surrendered her passport to the police on 30 June.

The duo subsequently became uncontactable.

Interpol red notices: What are they?

Issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence, the red notice is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, according to Interpol, or International Criminal Police Organization.

A red notice is not an international arrest warrant and is published by Interpol at the request of a member country, which must comply with its rules.

A typical red notice includes information to identify the wanted person, such as their name, date of birth, nationality, hair and eye colour, photographs, and fingerprints if available, as well as those related to the crime they are wanted for.

According to Interpol, there are currently about 69,270 valid red notices, of which some 7,500 are public. Last year, it issued 10,776 such notices.

Interpol has 195 member countries, including Singapore, who work together to share data related to police investigations.

From murder to $18.7m theft from bank: Singapore fugitives in Interpol notices

Pi and Pansuk are among 10 wanted individuals in Singapore who have been issued Interpol red notices. Of the remaining eight, five are Singaporeans.

Siak Lai Chun, now 60, a former OUB assistant manager, fled Singapore in 1997 after allegedly stealing $18.7 million from the bank using fake cashier's orders.

Muhammad Faidhil Mawi, 37, is wanted in connection with a 2006 fatal gang attack, described as one of the most horrific gang-related killings in Singapore then, in Central Square. At least six others involved with the attack that left a man dead have been dealt with.

Muhammad Ridzuan Johan, 40, is wanted for his alleged involvement in a 2007 fatal brawl at disco Babyface on Fullerton Road that left a man dead. Twelve people who were involved in the incident have been dealt with.

Neo Soon Joo, 51, a taxi driver, had allegedly masterminded a 2008 kidnapping and armed robbery of three people, including a 60-year-old woman and her two-year-old granddaughter. His accomplice and fellow taxi driver, Au Gan Chye, was sentenced to 10 years' jail. Au had driven Neo to the Woodlands Checkpoint shortly after the crime.

Mark Koh Kian Tiong, 49, a former Criminal Investigation Department detective, was among 10 police officers bribed by Chua Chin Hoe, a syndicate head operating a chain of illegal gambling houses. He allegedly accepted over $47,000 in bribes from Chua, who was in 2012 jailed for four and a half years and fined $20,000. The former assistant superintendent has been on the run for over a decade.

Desmond Loo Soon Aik, a 41-year-old Malaysian man, left Singapore in 2012, shortly after an Indonesian money courier was stabbed to death at The Arcade during what is believed to be an attempted robbery. Singapore police have been looking for Loo to assist in investigations.

Djatmiko Febri Irwansyah, a 40-year-old Indonesian man, left Singapore for Bintan after a 2013 murder of a material analyst, whose body was later dumped in a military live-firing area in Lim Chu Kang. He was the accomplice and long-time friend of businessman Chia Kee Chen, who was initially sentenced to life imprisonment but later had his sentence enhanced to the death penalty in 2018. Another co-conspirator, Chua Leong Aik, was sentenced to five years' jail.

Feng Tao, a 40-year-old Tianjin native, is wanted in Singapore for 12 counts of cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property.

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