M'sian electrician, 41, installed devices in S'pore flat that blasted 50,000 scam calls in 50 mins

A Malaysian electrician working for a scam syndicate believed to be Taiwanese in origin set up scam call devices in a rented flat in Singapore.

On Apr. 2, Chong Wei Hao, 42, was sentenced to five years and three months' jail and fined S$895.

According to CNA, the devices would blast over 50,000 calls over 50 minutes, linking to about 18,000 phone numbers.

Victims suffered losses of more than S$1.6 million in less than three weeks.

The calls were masked to appear locally made and featured automated voice messages of financial institution or government official impersonation scams.

40 phone numbers appeared in 42 police reports filed, reported CNA.

Job vacancy

According to charge sheets seen by Mothership, Chong acted on behalf of the syndicate from Mar. 30 to Apr. 17, 2025.

Chong, who was a freelance electrician with around 15 years of experience, was looking for extra income.

He saw a Telegram post for a job as an electrician with a monthly salary of RM3,000 (S$956), reported CNA.

He chatted with a Telegram user named "NASA" and was given an advance payment of US$700 (S$900) in cryptocurrency.

He agreed to the job and was told to rent an apartment and carry out other tasks.

Device installation

In a unit in Chai Chee for six months, Chong asked the landlord to equip it with high-speed broadband with at least 1 gigabit per second.

He also asked for a lock change and said the bedroom should not face neighbouring units, reported CNA.

He lied to the landlord that the unit was to house employees and that he managed a dim sum shop.

In late March 2025, "NASA" told Chong to bring and install Voice over Internet Protocol Global System for Mobile communications Gateway devices, or VoIP GSM Gateway devices, in Singapore.

These devices broadcast telephone signals from the IP network to the cellular network live.

Installed 9 of 20 planned devices

Chong received another US$700 (S$900) cryptocurrency payment in advance.

He made four trips between Singapore and Malaysia to install nine out of 20 planned devices.

He also installed two closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) to monitor the bedroom entrances.

To minimise discovery, he also avoided driving his own car into Singapore.

The devices were connected to an overseas SIM pool, a centralised system that houses multiple SIM cards.

The call would connect to the devices located in Singapore, which allowed the overseas syndicate masterminds to make remote calls that appeared local to the recipient without a physical presence here.

Chong also carried out similar installations in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in early 2025.

S$1.6 million in losses

According to CNA, from Apr. 4 to 16, a total of 131 unique phone numbers featured in 75 police reports were traced to Chong's rental unit.

Police identified the rental unit as a potential scam call blasting activity site and raided it on Apr. 17, 2025.

In three of the police reports, victims suffered losses amounting to S$1.6 million in fake Monetary Authority of Singapore investigator scams.

The amount has not been recovered, reported CNA.

"NASA" told Chong to check the devices a day after the raid as malfunctions were detected.

Chong returned to Singapore to check on the unit and realised he could not enter and that the devices were removed.

He fled Singapore and was later arrested in Johor Bahru on Jun. 28, 2025 and handed over to Singapore police two days after.

Sentencing

Chong pleaded guilty to one count of being party to a criminal conspiracy to cheat Singapore residents.

According to charge sheets, Chong deceived residents into believing false information through the use of the telecommunication devices he had installed and maintained.

Chong could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined for being party to a criminal conspiracy to commit cheating.

Top photo from Canva