Teen mother admits to cheating Carousell buyers over surgical masks in February
SINGAPORE — A teenage woman who cheated Carousell users of their deposits for surgical masks told the court that she needed the money to buy milk powder, food and diapers for her baby girl.
Nur Atiena Mohamed Asidi, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of cheating on Tuesday (14 April), with three similar charges to be taken into consideration for her sentencing. It is the first in a spate of cheating cases involving masks during the COVID-19 period to be dealt with in court.
District Judge Eddy Tham called for a probation suitability report for the teen, who will return to court on 27 May.
Transferred to bank account to pay for shoes
Between 18 and 19 February this year, Atiena had cheated at least five victims through online marketplace Carousell of $580, including a buyer who wanted to purchase 400 boxes of masks for $6,000.
Since 10 February, Atiena used her Carousell account to advertise the sale of surgical masks, claiming that they were three-ply – having three layers – for better protection.
One of her victims, a woman, contacted her over the listing on 18 February and asked if Atiena had ready stocks. The woman told Atiena that she was interested in buying 45 boxes of surgical masks and Atiena lied that she had available stocks to meet the order.
She then assured the woman that she could deliver the masks in two days, and asked the woman to make an upfront deposit of $100 to a UOB bank account. This bank account belonged to another unwitting Carousell seller whom Atiena had agreed to buy a pair of Nike shoes from. She had deliberately searched for items that were priced at $100 and had her female victim pay the money to this account so as to conceal her tracks. She later received the Nike shoes by delivery.
Atiena had no mask stock and never intended to deliver the masks. After the woman made the requisite deposit, Atiena became uncontactable. The female victim made a police report on 22 February.
Also on 18 February, another woman contacted Atiena through Carousell to buy 10 cartons containing 400 boxes of masks for $6,000.
Likewise, Atiena lied about having masks readily available to meet her demand. She promised to deliver the 400 boxes by 21 February and asked the woman to pay a deposit of $250 to a POSB bank account. The woman made the transfer but never received the masks.
The POSB bank account belonged to another Carousell seller whom Atiena wanted to buy a toy figurine from. The toy figurine was priced at $250 and Atiena was seeking again to disguise her tracks.
In order to obtain the $250 in cash, Atiena then told the toy seller that she preferred to pay him in cash during a physical meet-up. She asked the seller to send her the money sent by the victim via a bank transfer. After Atiena obtained the $250, she never met up with the toy seller and did not buy the toy.
Across all five of her charges, Atiena cheated at least five victims of $580. She restituted only $50 to one of the victims.
Spent most of the money on baby girl: Accused
Unrepresented, Atiena told the court that she used $340 of the money to buy milk powder, baby food, and diapers for her seven-month-old baby girl.
The mother pleaded for leniency and stated that she would pay for the outstanding amounts she cheated if she was given a chance to “go out”.
Tearing up in court, Atiena said that a friend’s family was caring for her daughter as her own mother did not want to.
Asked by DJ Tham where the father of her daughter was, Atiena said, “I’m not sure. At home.”
She said she would either stay with her friend’s family or her daughter’s father if she was to be released.
The prosecution did not object to the calling of a probation suitability report, considering that Atiena was young and was a first time offender.
Noting that Atiena had been remanded for a month and 13 days, Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Tay noted that Atiena’s parents were not willing to bail her out, prompting the judge to note that Atiena might be remanded for a long time due to the COVID-19 situation.
The judge eventually removed the condition that required Atiena’s parents to provide bail, so that her friend could be her bailor.
Besides Atiena’s case, another man – 28-year-old Daryl Cheong Zhi Yong – was charged in court on 15 February for cheating a man into paying $175,000 as a deposit for 500 cartons of surgical face masks.
Others – including four men aged 17 to 26 and a 24-year-old woman – have also been arrested in relation to cheating victims purchasing masks over Carousell.
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