Woman in conspiracy to cheat victims lured from dating apps to rigged mahjong games gets jail
The victim would be invited to a game where the other three players had been trained in mahjong and worked in concert to make him lose.
After meeting a “woman” on a dating application, the victim would be invited to a mahjong game that was rigged. (File photo: iStock)
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SINGAPORE: As part of an elaborate plan to cheat unsuspecting victims of their money in rigged games, a man allegedly posed as women on dating applications and invited potential dates to play mahjong.
When a victim turned up, the game would begin. The host and every other player had been trained for a specific role with the aim of ensuring the victim lost.
In total, the alleged mastermind estimated the total earnings across 19 games in 2024 to be more than S$100,000 (US$78,190).
Olivia Chin Hui Zhen, a 31-year-old Singaporean woman who functioned as host and player, was the first among the group to plead guilty on Thursday (Oct 1).
She was sentenced to eight months’ jail and fined S$3,000 (US$2,350).
Chin admitted to four charges of conspiracy to cheat and a fifth of unlawful gambling under the Gambling Control Act.
Another 32 charges were taken into consideration.
THE CASE
The alleged co-conspirators are: Marcus Ang Yi Sheng, Jason Chin Yi Sheng, Kristy Tan Siew Boon, Leong Ying Liat, Penelope Kek Yong Ru, Chloe Low Zhiyi, Belinda Chee Yan Lin and Li Yongyi Joaquin.
The court heard that Ang allegedly devised the conspiracy around April 2024.
He created fictional dating profiles of women on OkCupid and Tinder, including a Telegram username on the profiles.
When potential dates contacted him, he masqueraded as the women and invited them to play mahjong, prosecutors said.
Once the game was successfully set up, Ang would allegedly direct one of his female accomplices to pose as the woman chatting with the victim and then host the game.
The games took place at various flats, including Tan’s place as well as at SAFRA Toa Payoh.
Ang is said to have arranged four-player mahjong games comprising three accomplices and the victim.
The accomplices were to use fake names and relationships assigned to them. For example, they would sometimes pose as friends, siblings or strangers.
Ang also decided on the rules and rates used to calculate winnings for each session, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Gladys Lim.
He would also arrange for a reserve player who would observe the victim’s style of play and inform the rest. The reserve would also take over if the main players got tired.
The more experienced mahjong players in the group, including Leong, would train the rest.
There were various roles – for example, one player was to defend against the prospect of the victim winning, another was to form a winning hand as soon as possible and another to throw winning tiles needed by another conspirator.
According to Ang, this allowed them to win 99 per cent of the time, said the prosecution.
Ang set up a WhatsApp group chat where he disseminated information about the games to the accomplices, as well as ground rules.
The players were not to use their phones or be distracted during the games, and they were to turn over all winnings to Ang who would then hand them commissions of between S$300 and S$500 per session.
Chin’s role was to host the games, act as a player, or pretend to cover half the victim’s owed sums, in order to get him to cough up more money.
In total across the group, 28 games involving 28 victims were arranged between April and June in 2024.
However, only 19 of these games proceeded.
Chin took part in 10 of these games, earning S$100 to more than S$400 per game.
One victim was told he had to pay S$26,000 after losing, but he refused and paid only a portion of this.
The rest continued pressuring him to pay up, and Chin offered to pay half on his behalf since she had invited him.
This did not succeed and Ang allegedly threatened to go to the victim’s workplace if he did not pay up.
The case was later brought to police attention when a victim lodged a report.
Chin was arrested in early June 2024.
SENTENCING ARGUMENTS
The prosecution sought nine-and-a-half months’ jail and a fine of S$3,000 for Chin.
Her lawyers, Mr Johannes Hadi and Ms Seraphine Loh from Eugene Thuraisingam Asia, sought four months’ jail and a fine of S$1,000.
Mr Hadi said his client had made full restitution for the games she was involved in, even though she had received only a portion of winnings from each game.
She was also the first to plead guilty and was in the lowest tier of culpability, argued the lawyer.
He said Ang had the highest culpability as the mastermind and designer of the scheme, while more experienced mahjong players were in the middle category.
Mr Hadi said his client did not conceive the scheme and was a latecomer to the group when the scheme was already ongoing.
She also did not know that the games were rigged at first, finding out only subsequently, he said.
Chin also did not allow her photos to be used in the online dating profiles.
He pointed to Ang’s own assessment of Chin’s limited involvement in how she deserved less commission than the rest.
Mr Hadi said the prosecution’s own documents described his client’s role against the rest, yet she was placed in the same sentencing range as those with a higher culpability category.
Chin was the first to indicate she would plead guilty, said the lawyer.
“We say this shows the true remorse she has for her involvement in this game,” he said.
“She was a latecomer to this. I think she got a little bit in over her head, and when the chips fell around her, she was the first to say sorry, admit her involvement in the scheme and step forward to take the full and appropriate consequences for her actions,” said Mr Hadi.
In response, Ms Lim said the entire offending conduct relates to a conspiracy, and Chin was not as uninvolved as suggested by the defence.
She pointed to the number of games Chin was involved in, when other accomplices played much fewer games.
She acted on Ang’s instructions and was not only a player, but a host in many of the games, said Ms Lim.
She also pressured victims to pay up by offering to make partial payment for them, she added.
EQUALLY LIABLE: JUDGE
District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt said an accused person in a conspiracy was equally liable, whether she was present or not.
He said the prosecution already accepted that Ang was the mastermind and Chin’s culpability was lower, but not the lowest.
He said her role and culpability could not be understated.
“I would also note that her skills or lack thereof in the game of mahjong is also irrelevant. They each have their role to play, and her role is not to be skilled in the game, there are others more skilled and (they) would teach her,” said Judge Chay.
He added that her culpability was reflected in the number of charges she faced, but took into account the restitution she had made.
He allowed Chin to defer her sentence by four weeks to settle her affairs.
Most of the co-accused are scheduled to plead guilty, except Li, whose case is still pending.
For conspiracy to cheat, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
For unlawful gambling, an offender can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
Source: CNA/ll(sn)
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