Man jailed for helping Cambodia scam syndicate cheat Singapore victims of nearly S$656,800
The man worked in an office near one of Cambodia’s borders, where about 60 people, including women who carried out internet romance scams, were involved in the scam operation.
A scammer working behind a computer with a phone in his hand. (File photo: iStock/Calvin Chan)
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SINGAPORE: After being released from prison on remission for a past cheating offence, a man flew to Cambodia where he targeted people in Singapore via government official impersonation scams.
After returning to Singapore, he collected close to S$656,800 (US$516,900) from at least 14 victims.
Muhammad Firdaus Abdul Rahman, 37, was sentenced to 60 months’ jail on Friday (Aug 28) for being part of an organised criminal group and assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct. As he re-offended during his remission period, he will need to serve an additional 236 days in jail.
A remission order means the man was released earlier than his scheduled release date. The order required him not to commit an offence between Sep 24, 2024 and Aug 3, 2025.
He pleaded guilty to both charges and one other charge was taken into consideration.
THE SYNDICATE
Firdaus, a Singaporean, was convicted in 2022 for cheating and sentenced to 31 months’ jail. He no longer had an e-tag after he was released on remission.
Sometime before October 2024, Firdaus’ friend, named Jackson Lim Soon Lai in court documents, contacted him about a “scam job” in Cambodia. Jackson told him that he would be given a basic pay of S$1,000 on top of a 3 per cent commission.
Jackson also made the same offer to another man, referred to as Chris Jerome in the documents. Firdaus, who knew that Lim was involved in illegal activity, accepted the offer.
On Oct 3, 2024, the men flew to Cambodia and took a van from the airport to an area near one of Cambodia’s borders.
Firdaus and Chris Jerome were brought into an office that was guarded by around 15 people and some guard dogs. They were briefed on how to make the scam calls and instructed to call Singapore phone numbers. They were told to claim that they were from the Singapore Cyber Emergency Response Team and that the calls were over cybersecurity issues.
If the person they called believed them, they were to transfer the call to another line where someone else would speak to the caller. If the person got scammed and transferred money to the syndicate, Firdaus and Chris Jerome would get a cut depending on who made the first call.
Firdaus observed there were about 60 people in the office, including women who carried out internet love scams.
AT LEAST 14 VICTIMS
Firdaus called and scammed people for about a month. He was later hospitalised and the scam syndicate paid for his medical fees. After he was discharged, he decided to return to Singapore alone.
While in Singapore, Jackson told Firdaus to feed him information about the Singapore Police Force and/or Monetary Authority of Singapore, asking for pictures and details on their activities which were publicly available online.
Firdaus knew Jackson wanted this information to use them in the scams and helped him out.
On Apr 19, 2025, Jackson asked Firdaus to help him collect money packages and hand them off to an another person.
Firdaus, who was told he would be paid for his assistance, knew that the money were benefits from criminal conduct and that Jackson was still based in Cambodia with transnational criminal syndicates and committing cheating offences, court documents read.
But Firdaus did not ask further and accepted Jackson’s offer. Between Apr 19, 2025 and May 5, 2025, Firdaus collected S$656,788 from at least 14 victims at various locations from malls to HBD blocks.
He received at least S$1,000 for doing so.
MEDICAL CONDITION
Firdaus was represented by Mr Tham Kok Leong and Mr Chua Jun Qian from Tactica Law.
Mr Chua told the court on Friday that his client suffered a “life-changing cardiac condition” earlier this year. “These are not minor ailments that can simply be treated with panadol,” he said, asking that the court accord mitigating weight to his client’s ill health.
While the submitted medical reports noted it was unlikely that there would be a disproportionate effect on Firdaus’ health if he served a prolonged jail sentence, the defence lawyer said there was a risk that something might happen to his client.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Xavier Tan agreed with Mr Chua about the risks but told the court that Firdaus’ ailments did not rise to the level which warranted judicial mercy or constituted a mitigating factor.
He sought 67 to 75 months’ jail for Firdaus, with an additional 237 to 267 days’ imprisonment.
In sentencing, District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam touched on the sentencing discount he had considered. According to plead-guilty guidelines, a 30 per cent “discount” is imposed on those who indicate they intend to plead guilty early.
Judge Ng said that he initially placed a 25 per cent discount on Firdaus’ sentence but raised it to 30 per cent, in light of the latter’s medical condition. He noted that this did not apply to the additional sentencing.
For being part of an organised criminal group, Firdaus could have been fined up to S$100,000, or jailed up to five years, or both.
For assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct, he could have been fined up to S$500,000 or jailed up to 10 years, or both.
Source: CNA/ng(sn)
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