Two accused of S$263,000 scam acquitted after stern warnings from Attorney-General’s Chambers

Two individuals who were accused of conspiring to cheat three victims of nearly S$263,000 have been acquitted following the issuance of stern warnings by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

Chinese national Wang Rui, 34, and Malaysian national Sau Young Seng, 38, were granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal on 17 September 2025.

A discharge amounting to an acquittal means the pair cannot be charged again for the same offences.

In a statement to The Straits Times on 24 September, the AGC said: “After carefully considering the facts and circumstances of the matter, the prosecution directed that stern warnings in lieu of prosecution be issued to both Wang and Sau.”

It added that, following the administration of the stern warnings, the prosecution applied for the discharge, which was granted by District Judge Brenda Tan.

Initial charges and allegations

On 15 November 2024, Wang and Sau were each handed three cheating charges. They were accused of participating in a conspiracy to mislead three individuals into transferring funds for what were believed to be fraudulent online job or investment opportunities.

The first alleged scam occurred between June and July 2024, when a victim responded to a WhatsApp message about a job opportunity. The victim transferred more than S$28,000 to several bank accounts.

A second incident took place between June and August 2024, when another victim was deceived into investing nearly S$232,000 across five bank accounts.

In a third case between July and August 2024, Wang and Sau were alleged to have tricked a victim into transferring S$2,600 to an online trading platform named tradekey.icu.

Anti-scam operation and suspected links to wider syndicate

According to police statements from November 2024, both suspects were arrested during a two-day anti-scam operation conducted on 13 and 14 November.

Authorities reportedly seized over 6,800 SIM cards, 15 mobile phones, two laptops, and recovered more than S$10,000 in cash.

Investigations suggested that Wang and Sau were connected to a broader criminal syndicate involved in online scams targeting Singapore residents.

Police had initially suspected that the duo helped create and sell WhatsApp accounts using both local and foreign SIM cards, allegedly supplying these to overseas scam groups. They were also believed to have offered one-time password (OTP) activation services to assist scam networks.

However, court documents did not detail how these services were used in specific cases or whether any funds were recovered.

Legal framework

Under Section 420 of Singapore’s Penal Code, each cheating charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine.

The issuance of a stern warning, rather than prosecution, typically reflects prosecutorial discretion exercised in light of available evidence, culpability, and broader public interest considerations.

Legal observers note that such outcomes, while uncommon in high-value fraud cases, may occur when individuals are deemed to have played minor or peripheral roles, or when cooperation with investigations is taken into account.