12 charged for alleged ties to Cambodia-based scam syndicate that targeted Singapore victims

Twelve alleged members of a scam syndicate have been charged, with police saying the group operated out of Cambodia but targeted victims in Singapore.

The syndicate, which was secretly operating out of a scam centre in Phnom Penh, is believed to be responsible for at least 330 reported cases involving more than $40 million in losses.

The 12 people were each handed a charge under the Organised Crime Act on Sept 11.

Nine of them - Deon Tan Ke Yuan, 25; Lester Ng Jing Hai, 29; Christy Neo Wei En, 29; Heiqal Lee, 30; Tay Jun Xiang, 32; Ng Wei Kang, 33; Zachary Lee Jia An, 35; Melvin Tan Wenzheng, 35 and Lau Haoxiang, 39 - are Singaporeans.

The remaining three are Malaysians Muhamad Asyraf Anuar and Yip Chee Ming, both 29, and Filipina De Villar Rizalyn Panganiban, 34.

According to court documents, the 12 are alleged to be members of a locally linked organised criminal group. Their cases have been adjourned to Sept 18.

In a statement on Sept 10, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it had worked with the Cambodian National Police (CNP) in a cross-border operation and disrupted the syndicate behind government official impersonation scams in Singapore.

During the joint operation on Sept 9, officers from SPF's Criminal Investigation Department and Police Intelligence Department conducted raids at multiple locations across the island at places such as apartments and hotel rooms.

Officers arrested 12 people, some of whom had allegedly acted as callers on behalf of the syndicate and had just returned from Cambodia.

The Anti-Cyber Crime Department of the CNP also carried out raids at a building and a warehouse in Phnom Penh.

It then uncovered electronic devices and equipment that the syndicate could have used to perpetrate such scams.

An SPF spokesperson said that during the joint operation, the authorities seized items, including $2.5 million worth of funds from bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets, and copies of scripts used to commit the offences.

Since December 2024, SPF has received reports of government official impersonation scams in which victims were duped into losing large sums of money through a three-step process.

The spokesperson said scam callers would first call the victims and pretend to be bank employees.

After that, the callers would direct the victims to another scammer, who would pose as a government official - either a police officer or a representative of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The scammer impersonating a government official would dupe the victims into believing that their bank accounts were implicated in an ongoing criminal investigation.

The scammer would then order the victims to surrender the funds in their bank accounts for "investigation purposes", telling them to transfer their money into accounts which the syndicate controlled.

The police said many other syndicate members are still at large and CNP's operation is ongoing.

The SPF is working closely with foreign law enforcement agencies to establish their whereabouts and arrest them.