'Love scam victim' jailed 16 months for cheating employer and money laundering
She was trapped in a loveless marriage and sought the affection of a man whom she befriended online. But the man was only seeking to exploit the woman’s trust and instructed her to cheat her company.
Separately, she helped another man to launder money despite having been warned and let off by the police previously for being involved in a similar incident previously. She committed both offences without having met the scammer.
For transmitting more than $42,000 from her workplace to her “online lover” and receiving $62,000 of criminal proceeds, Loke Pui Ling, 44, was jailed 16 months by District Judge Samuel Chua on Monday (29 January).
Loke, who was seen wiping away tears from her eyes during the hearing, pleaded guilty to two charges – one charge of criminal breach of trust as a clerk or servant, and one charge of cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property. Four other similar charges were taken into consideration.
The court heard that in January 2015, Loke befriended a man by the name of “Sean” on a dating website. “Sean” turned out to be a scammer who was using Loke to obtain funds from her.
As a customer support specialist, Loke’s job was to collect payment and create invoices. According to court documents, Loke collected $42,292.70 in cash from customers between 14 July 2015 and 20 May 2016. Loke took this cash instead of handing it over to her company. She remitted some of the money to an individual in Nigeria, and deposited the remaining amount to different bank accounts.
Separately, Loke befriended a man by the name of “Jason” who asked her to help receive a sum of money in her bank account. She received $62,000 and was instructed to withdraw $60,000, which she handed over to an unknown woman in Singapore. The funds were the proceeds of criminal conduct.
Loke did not know where the money came from and was told by “Jason” that the money was for work purposes. Loke had received a warning in September 2014 from the police for dealing with illegal funds in a separate incident.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jordon Li called for a total jail term of 18 months, saying that Loke resorted to crime to help her online lover. Loke had also laundered money for an unknown person despite being warned by the police for being involved a similar situation previously, said Li.
Loke’s lawyer Ashwin Ganapathy said in mitigation that Loke was caught in a loveless marriage, and found out that her husband was having an affair. With no support from her husband, she had to help raise her two children aged 12 and 15, Ashwin added.
Hoping to find the love that she longed for, Loke went onto a dating website to search for a partner, the lawyer said.
For the first proceed charge, Loke was made to believe that “Sean” was working in Nigeria where he was robbed and hospitalised, and that he urgently needed funding. Later, the scammer enlisted the help of another man who contacted Loke via WhatsApp and emotionally blackmailed her into handling illegal proceeds.
Ashwin asked for a total jail term of not more than 12 months. Loke did not come from a family with means to make restitution, and that she was a victim of a scam who preyed on her loneliness and sympathy, Ashwin said. “In a sad way, she has been a victim of her own circumstances,” he added. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Ashwin said Loke was a victim of a love scam.
For criminal breach of trust, she could have been jailed up to 15 years and fined. For cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property, she could have been jailed up to 10 years or fined up to $500,000 or both.
