S'pore confiscates S$400,000 in unlawful proceeds carried across border by M'sian man

Close to S$400,000 in cash seized from a Malaysian man at Tuas Checkpoint will be forfeited to the state after the sum was found to be unlawful proceeds, the police said on Apr. 28.

Mothership previously reported that the 56-year-old man, Diong Gin Ing, attempted to cross the border and enter Singapore with about S$399,266 worth of cash in May 2025.

Investigations revealed that the money came from commissions he earned from acting as a runner for illegal betting and unlicensed moneylending activities in Malaysia.

Diong reportedly did such work for six years, and brought the cash to Singapore, planning to gamble at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino.

At the checkpoint, he did not accurately declare the cash he was carrying, and was unable to provide a satisfactory account of the source of these funds.

Following his arrest, he was charged at court for acquiring, possessing, and using benefits from criminal conduct, and for moving cash exceeding the S$20,000 limit without making the proper declaration.

On Mar. 26, he pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to jail for 10 months and three days.

The prosecution applied for all the seized cash to be forfeited to the state, and the court granted this order on Apr. 16.

"The forfeiture of the entire sum of cash in this case demonstrates our commitment to deprive criminals of their ill-gotten gains," said the director of the Commercial Affairs Department, Peggy Pao. "We will not tolerate any transnational criminal activities or money laundering in Singapore."

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