S'porean man, 26, helped register 574 SIM cards for syndicate, victims lost S$139,500, says wasn't sure what cards would exactly be used for

While out on bail for voluntarily causing hurt to another with a knife, a man in Singapore committed other crimes to help a scam syndicate.

Al Hafirqan Bin Al Hadisht, 26, helped to register 574 SIM cards used to perpetrate scams by helping to recruit runners to register the cards.

He was sentenced to four years in jail on Apr. 9 after pleading guilty to six charges of transacting SIM cards registered using another person’s particulars for criminal activity.

He also faced one charge of voluntarily causing hurt by using a dangerous weapon, and another charge of failing to attend court while out on bail.

17 other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Recruited people to buy SIM cards

Hafirqan had been involved in a physical altercation on Jun. 2, 2024, in which he had slapped and kicked the victim, as well as used the sharp edge of a knife to hit the victim.

This had happened near Cuppage Plaza off Orchard Road, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

The victim lost consciousness and was later found to have an orbital fracture.

Hafirqan was charged in court on Jun. 11, 2024 and let out on bail.

He was scheduled to attend a pre-trial conference roughly a year later on Jun. 5, 2025, but failed to do so.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) was conducting investigations into the subscribers of SIM cards which had been misused to make scam calls in April 2025.

It was found that a total of 574 SIM cards were registered by 22 individuals and linked to Hafirqan.

He later admitted that he recruited two teenagers to purchase SIM cards for him between November 2024 and December 2024.

The two teens were paid for the act, and they, in turn, also recruited more people through Telegram chat groups.

Did not know what SIM cards would be used for

Hafirqan's defence lawyer said that while he knew the SIM cards would be used for unlawful purposes, he was not sure exactly what these were, according to The Straits Times.

“His role in this syndicate was to collect the SIM cards and give them to the third party. He should not be labelled as a mastermind behind this scam. He was the middleman as he was receiving instructions from another person,” his lawyer said.

However, the prosecutor said it was "irrelevant" that Hafirqan did not know the purposes for the SIM cards, as his "desire to commit crime for wrongful gain" was in itself an aggravating factor.

In addition, the prosecutor noted that the extent of usage of the SIM cards was significant.

The SIM cards used to perpetrate scams led to one victim losing S$78,800, while two other victims sustained a total loss of S$43,600.

One more lost S$10,600, while another lost S$6,500.

Some of these victims were above 60.

Hafirqan was ultimately sentenced to 48 months' imprisonment, backdated to Jun. 4, 2024 and fined S$1,000.

If he is not able to pay the fine, he will have to serve an additional five days' imprisonment.

Top photos from Canva