M'sian woman, 21, becomes 20th M'sian arrested in S'pore in 2 months for facilitating scam syndicates to collect cash, gold & valuables

A 21-year-old Malaysian woman is slated be charged in Singapore court on Apr. 30 for her suspected involvement in an investment scam.

She is the 20th Malaysian arrested in Singapore since March 2026 for facilitating scam syndicates to collect cash, gold and valuables.

Security officer alerted police to suspicious transaction

On Apr. 28, a security officer at AMK Hub in Ang Mo Kio alerted police to a suspicious transaction.

The security officer witnessed a man handing a large sum of cash to a woman at the shopping mall via surveillance footage.

Officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division and Anti-Scam Command responded to the case.

Police officers were able to establish that the man was a victim of an investment scam.

The woman was believed to be a money mule and was arrested.

WhatsApp group chat

Preliminary investigations revealed that in February 2026, the victim was added to an investment group chat on WhatsApp.

Investment opportunities and a web link to a trading platform were shared in the group chat.

The victim first transferred S$10,000 to a bank account as an investment and had not withdrawn the promised profit.

He then furthered his investment and was instructed by an unknown person in the group chat to withdraw S$50,000 and hand it over to an investment officer at the company at AMK Hub.

Investigations also revealed that the woman had allegedly been tasked by unknown persons believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate to collect cash from scam victims and hand them over to other unknown persons.

The woman will be charged with the offence of abetment by conspiracy to assist another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992.

The offence carries a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine not exceeding S$500,000, or both.

Trend

The police said they continue to observe a trend of Malaysians travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from scam victims.

With effect from Dec. 30, 2025, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will be subject to mandatory caning of at least six strokes, up to a maximum of 24 strokes.

Scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds will be subject to discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.

This includes certain money-laundering offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

Under the Facility Restriction Framework, individuals involved in mule-related offences may face restrictions on banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further facilitation of scams.

These individuals could be under investigation and assessed to be at risk, or have been warned, issued with composition sums, prosecuted, or convicted.