SINGAPORE: Instead of paying a noodle stall for his food order, a man transferred money between two of his bank accounts and then pretended that he had paid the stall’s operator.
Siew Weng Chuin, 25, said that he would make the payment via PayNow and then changed the payee in the ensuing transaction from the noodle stall’s bank account to one that belonged to him.
He repeated this deception at the noodle stall in Hougang about three to five more times.
Siew, who was a police officer then, was fined S$500 (US$369) on Thursday (May 9) after pleading guilty to one count of cheating. Another count of cheating was considered for his sentencing.
Siew paid the fine. He has since resigned from the Singapore Police Force, according to court documents.
The court heard that Siew began patronising the noodle stall in April last year.
On Apr 14, he placed an order for food amounting to S$25.60. He told the stall’s operator, a 26-year-old woman, that he would pay via PayNow bank transfer and used his mobile phone to scan the QR code displayed at the stall.
Instead of making the transaction, however, Siew changed the payee and effected the payment to himself.
Siew then showed the victim the transaction, deceiving her into believing that he had paid for his food.
On another occasion, on Apr 17 last year, after placing an order for S$10.90 but failing to pay again, the victim asked Siew if the previous payment of S$25.60 had been made. She said she had not been able to find a record of the transaction in the stall’s bank account.
“The accused acted surprised and told (the victim) that the payment had gone through and showed (the victim) his transaction history that reflected a transfer of S$25.60,” the prosecution told the court.
The victim assumed the payment was still pending. She asked Siew to provide her with his phone number, but he gave her a number that was no longer in use.
She could not reach Siew when she tried to call him later on to inform him about the unsuccessful payment.
On May 31, 2023, the victim spotted Siew and confronted him. She hurriedly called the police, stating that she had previously made a police report about the non-payments. She said the police had asked her to call again if she saw Siew.
In total, Siew cheated the victim out of S$36.50, court documents said. He made full restitution on Apr 18 this year.
For cheating, Siew could have been jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
