Man, 19, allegedly punched in Hougang while trying to buy S$32,000 of cryptocurrency in offline meet-up

A 19-year-old man in Singapore had arranged to buy cryptocurrency face-to-face offline from a seller.

On Aug. 29 evening, when it was time to trade, two other men approached the crypto buyer while he was waiting for the crypto seller to finish his cigarette at Block 567A Hougang Street 51.

When the crypto buyer, who wishes to be identified only as ZX, was not paying attention, one of the men passing by allegedly attacked him by punching his left cheek.

Worried that the two men who appeared were after his clutch, which contained S$32,000 cash to purchase the cryptocurrency, ZX immediately began running towards Hougang Green Shopping Mall.

The two men then apparently began chasing after him, and the crypto buyer only managed to shake them off after running across the road and returning to his home.

Knew the seller through Telegram

Speaking to Mothership, ZX said he first got in touch with the seller, also a male, via Telegram on Aug. 28.

The seller had responded to ZX's message about his interest in buying Tether, a cryptocurrency stablecoin also referred to as USDT.

Although ZX had never dealt with the seller before, he shared that he decided to go ahead with the trade because he needed Tether, and the seller was the only one who reached out to him.

Why trade crypto offline?

ZX explained to Mothership that he chose to trade cryptocurrency offline as it was cheaper: "It's not reasonable to lose out on the fees and everything with my trading frequency."

He explained that fees came up to 1 to 2 per cent of the total price for each buying or selling trade.

The deal was for the seller to send USDT to ZX's crypto wallet in the exchange that he is using once he handed over the cash in person.

The meet-up

After the seller agreed to exchange his Tether for S$32,000 cash, the parties decided to meet at Hougang Green Shopping Mall at 5pm the next day.

However, when ZX arrived at the mall on Aug. 29, the seller suddenly revealed that he was waiting at a nearby car park instead, shared ZX.

"I told him I preferred to meet him in the mall, but he insisted that I bring him in. As such, I went to withdraw some money before meeting him at the car park," ZX recounted.

Two men approached ZX 'like regular pedestrians'

However, when ZX arrived at the car park, the seller allegedly proposed to trade inside the car park, saying that police officers were patrolling outside, said ZX.

After ZX replied that he still preferred to trade in the mall, the seller told ZX "to wait for him to finish his cigarettes first".

It was then that two men began walking towards ZX "like regular pedestrians", causing him to put up his guard and surveil his surroundings.

ZX said one of the men still managed to ambush him by punching him and reaching for his clutch, where the cash was kept.

When ZX tried to run towards the mall thinking the men would not dare to follow him, they kept chasing after him, the crypto buyer recounted.

ZX lodged police report

While running for his safety, ZX shouted, "Robbery!"

It was in hopes that someone would come to his assistance, but his efforts proved futile.

Subsequently, when the two men began to encircle him, ZX managed to outrun them by crossing the road towards his home.

He immediately lodged a police report at a police station nearby after securing his cash at home.

As a result of the punch, ZX said his left cheek was swollen and bruised.

Men arrested, seller charged

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed with Mothership in a Sep. 3 statement that a police report was lodged.

Two men, aged 20 and 21, have been arrested for attempted robbery.

In a follow-up news release issued on Sep. 5, the police added that they had arrested the seller, 29-year-old Benefict Yee Hong Fai, as well.

Yee was charged on the same day with the offence of robbery with hurt, which carries an imprisonment term of between five and 20 years and at least 12 strokes of the cane.

The two other men are assisting with investigations, said the police.

Top images via ZX