S'pore woman scammed S$4,000 safekeeping 'gold ingots'; 3 men, aged 52-62, arrested for conspiring to cheat

Two men approached a woman in Singapore and claimed to have chanced upon several "gold ingots", as well as a document with "old Chinese writings" resembling an old will.

The men offered to leave the gold ingots with the woman for safekeeping in exchange for cash as collateral.

The woman handed the men S$4,000 and realised she had been scammed as the gold ingots were fake.

She then alerted the Singapore police.

The police arrested three men aged between 52 and 62 on Jun. 20, 2024 for their alleged involvement in conspiring to cheat using fake gold ingots, the Singapore Police Force said in a news release on Jun. 21.

Digging for gold

The two men approached the woman at Tras Street at around 1pm on Jun. 19 and claimed they found the gold ingots while digging the ground at an unknown site in Singapore.

They showed her the document, as well as a small gold ingot.

The men claimed they wanted to send the gold pieces back to China but were unsure of the legal process.

They asked the woman to safekeep the gold for them in exchange for cash.

The woman took the two men to a goldsmith shop in Eu Tong Sen Street to verify the authenticity of the small gold ingot. It turned out to be genuine.

Police arrested accomplice and seized over 80 "gold ingots"

The men took back the genuine gold ingot, gave the woman the other "gold ingots", and asked her for S$4,000.

The woman handed the money over and went to the same goldsmith shop to authenticate the "gold ingots", only to learn that they were fake.

By then, the two men had left the shop and the woman realised she had been scammed.

Central Police Division officers identified the two men and arrested them the next day in Aliwal Street on Jun. 20.

They also arrested a male accomplice after further investigations.

Several items, including more than 80 mini gold-coloured ingots, a piece of paper with Chinese writings and six gold-coloured mini Buddha statues, were seized.

Men will be charged on Jun. 22

The three men are expected to be charged on Jun. 22 with conspiracy to commit cheating.

If convicted, they can be jailed up to 10 years and fined.

The police advised the public to be wary of offers that sound too good to be true and to only buy from established, authorised or reputable retailers and/ or enlist a professional to verify the authenticity and value of any high-value items before making a purchase.

Top image from Singapore Police Force