Jover Chew and four others charged in court with counts of cheating

The other four men told the court that they intended to plead guilty.

Ng Yi Shu| May 29, 04:04 PM

Jover Chew, the former owner of now defunct Sim Lim electronics shop Mobile Air, was charged in court for 25 counts of cheating and one count of criminal intimidation today (May 29).

The 32-year-old, along with four other former shop employees, were arrested two days ago on May 27. Chew, who sported a polo tee and blond hair, was led into court via police van earlier this morning.

Jover_Chew_2 Bail was offered to Jover Chew at $40,000.

 

The gamut of 26 charges allege that Chew ‘dishonestly induced’ customers to pay for phones they were not going to receive. Chew also allegedly threatened to lodge a complaint with a customer’s employer and cause his work permit to be revoked if the customer did not pay up.

Chew’s four other employees - Koh Guan Seng, Kam Kok Keong, Lim Hong Ching and Lim Zhi Wei Kelvin face 26 charges in total of abetting a conspiracy to cheat.

The four men told the court that they intended to plead guilty, according to TODAY.

Chew did not enter a plea. His lawyer, Chia Kok Seng, asked for time to take instructions from his client.

Of the five, Lim Hong Ching left the State Courts at about 10am after the charges were read out to them.

Edmund_Lim_2 Lim Hong Ching walking out of court today.

Customers who bought phones at Mobile Air were reportedly deceived into paying inflated sums for warranties and other additional charges through bogus means. Mobile Air had accumulated nearly 40 complaints to the Consumer Association of Singapore, according to the watchdog’s alert list.

Mobile Air’s infamy began in October last year when a video showing a Vietnamese tourist begging for a refund at the store went viral in November last year.

Factory worker Pham Van Thoai was initially quoted a price of $950 for an iPhone 6 - but was told to cough up an additional $1,500 for the warranty. Thoai could not pay and got on his knees to beg for a refund. Thoai’s case was not included in Chew’s gamut of charges.

An Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to buy Thoai an iPhone 6 shot past its $1,687 goal was crossed in less than one hour, and accumulated USD$12,431 by the time it ended on Nov 12 last year. Thoai eventually declined the gift, accepting only $200 worth of food.

The store was eventually taken over by Lim Hong Ching, after mega troll SMRT Ltd (Feedback).

pranked Chew with $54 worth of pizzas. Chew’s NRIC number, along with risque pictures and his address, were made public as well.

Bail was offered to Chew at $40,000. Mobile Air’s four other employees were offered bail of $10,000 to $30,000.

Chew is set to return to court for a pre-trial conference at Jun 25, while the four others will return to court on Jun 19.

Photos by Ng Yi Shu.

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