Singaporean jailed for joining illegal gambling syndicate, faking CPF contributions
The 32-year-old man sentenced to 17 months' jail, fined $60,000 after pleading guilty to 5 charges
SINGAPORE — A 32-year-old man was sentenced to 17 months' jail and fined $60,000 on Wednesday (25 January) for joining an online gambling syndicate and using criminal proceeds to fake CPF contributions for a home loan.
CNA reported that Kiegan Tan Ming Ren had earlier pleaded guilty to five charges related to the Remote Gambling Act and Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. Another eight charges were considered during sentencing.
The court allowed Tan to begin his jail term on 6 February, and pay his fine by then.
Accepting role in an illegal remote gambling syndicate
CNA reported that Tan accepted a position in an illegal remote gambling syndicate, collecting 4D and Toto bets for co-accused Tan Chee Seng.
He initially had an agent account on one of the illegal gambling websites to find punters to place bets with. Later on, he had a master agent account, which gave him a credit limit of $5 million, as well as greater oversight and control over the syndicate such as coordinating agents under him.
For his role, Tan was entitled to a 10 per cent commission on all the bets he received, plus 5 per cent on the winning amount if the bet was successful.
Subsequently, he took a position against the bets received, which meant he could share in the profits and losses instead of merely collecting commission.
Cash payments were given to companies to falsely declare Tan as a staff
Tan also admitted to offences of transferring criminal proceeds, reported CNA.
He had wanted to secure a home loan from the Housing Board for his flat but needed to show he was gainfully employed and receiving a stable income.
To build his credit rating, he decided to make cash payments to companies that would falsely declare him as an employee and make contributions to his CPF account.
Between August 2016 and November 2017, Tan paid a person called Lim Poh Kian 11 payments of $600 each, amounting to a total of $6,600. Lim was a shareholder of a company called BKDL, and arranged for an online submission of CPF contributions to Tan as a purported employee of BKDL.
From March 2018 to June 2019, Tan also paid a total of $17,824 in 16 payments of $1,114 to Tan Chee Seng, who arranged for an associate of another company called Revitalize Trading to contribute to Tan's CPF savings.
Tan was arrested at Waterway Point in July 2019 as part of an islandwide operation to nab 36 members of the illegal gambling syndicate.
Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
