Italian man, 24, trades 'fake' Rolex at S'pore shop, turns out to be real, gets 7 months' jail for attempting to cheat

Believing that the Rolex watch he had bought from an acquaintance was not authentic, an Italian man went to a shop in Singapore in November 2025 and traded the "fake" watch for three genuine Rolex watches valued at S$94,600.

After further checks, the retailer felt the traded watch was counterfeit and alerted the police, who arrested the Italian man as he was about to flee the country.

In a surprising turn of events, however, the watch the Italian traded turned out to be genuine.

Nevertheless, the prosecutor argued that he had intended and attempted to cheat the retailer.

Deepak Singh, 24, pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to cheat, where he could have caused a loss for the victim if the Rolex had been non-authentic. A second charge of using a forged passport during the watch trade was taken into consideration.

On Apr. 20, he was sentenced to seven months in prison.

How he obtained the watch

According to court documents, Singh bought a Rolex GMT Saru from an acquaintance sometime in February or March 2025.

He got it in exchange for 55,000 euros (S$82,000) in cash, and a Cartier bracelet valued at about 5,000 euros (S$7,500).

By his understanding, the watch was valued at about 90,000 euros (S$135,000) in the resale watch market, so he believed he could profit from the deal.

As there are purportedly only 20 authentic pieces of this model in circulation, he visited some watch shops to check the authenticity of his.

When a shop told him the watch's case might have been swapped out, and the serial number of a genuine Rolex GMT Saru may have been laser-engraved onto the watch, Singh suspected that he had been cheated.

He decided to quickly sell off this supposedly fake watch and flew to Singapore on Nov. 27, 2025, with the intention to do so at a shop in the country.

He also planned to buy luxury watches to resell in Europe for a profit.

The trade at a Bencoolen shop

The day after he arrived in Singapore, Singh managed to trade the watch at The Watch Room in Bencoolen Mall.

He presented the watch and its warranty card to the retailer, Ho Wen Fa, who recognised it as a Rolex GMT Saru valued at about S$120,000.

Ho agreed to give Singh S$94,700 for the watch, but Singh did not want cash and instead asked for three other watches belonging to Ho.

Ho was satisfied with the condition of Singh's watch and the authenticity of the warranty card, so they made the trade, and also gave Singh an extra S$300 because he did not provide any boxes for the watches.

For registration, Singh provided a forged soft copy of his passport that had an AI-modified photo, and a false name and passport number.

He did this to escape criminal liability and any possible taxes from the sale of the watch, according to the prosecutor.

Believed to be fake

After the trade was done and Singh left the shop, Ho inspected the traded watch more carefully and discovered that its serial number had been washed off and subsequently laser-engraved.

Further checks made him believe the Rolex to be fake, so he called Singh and asked him to go back to the shop.

Although Singh agreed to do so, he never showed up and booked a flight for Italy set to depart that night, hoping to avoid arrest.

But Ho had called the police, and they eventually arrested Singh at Changi Airport.

A genuine watch

Afterwards, on Dec. 3, 2025, the police brought the Rolex GMT Saru to the Rolex Service Centre to assess its authenticity.

That same day, a watch technician certified that all the parts of the watch were authentic and original.

Sentencing

Even though the illegal outcome did not materialise, Singh's sentence must accurately capture his culpability, the prosecution argued.

Seeking a sentence of 12 months in prison, the prosecution highlighted that Singh followed through with his attempt to cheat the victim to completion, and subsequently booked the first flight out of Singapore to evade arrest.

There was also significant premeditation and planning, showing his intention to cheat the retailer.

Although no actual loss was caused, the value of the item attempted to be cheated was high at S$94,700, they added.

Singh's lawyers sought six months' jail, CNA reported.

They argued that there should be a significant discount on account of the fact that no loss was caused, and urged sympathy for the hardship Singh's detention in Singapore was causing him and his family.

Singh came from a working-class household after immigrating to Italy before he was born, his lawyers said, and could not afford to fly to Singapore to visit their son.

According to CNA, they also said Singh was a "good-natured young man with the potential to turn his life around" and said this was his first brush with the law.

Top images from the Singapore Police Force and USA Luxury Watches