M'sian woman, 26, to be charged for suspected involvement in govt officials impersonation scam

The police will be charging a 26-year-old Malaysian woman for her suspected involvement in a government official impersonation scam.

She was charged in court on May 9, 2026, according to a police news release.

This brings the total number of Malaysians arrested in Singapore since March 2026 for facilitating scam syndicates to collect cash and valuables to 23.

Victim falsely accused of being part of scam syndicate

This comes after the police received a report on May 6 from a victim who had received a call purportedly from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which stated that her identity had been misused to purchase insurance.

The release noted that the victim, who denied any knowledge of such a purchase, was given a phone number to cancel the insurance policy.

After calling the number, she was then falsely accused of being part of a scam syndicate and was instructed to surrender all her money and valuables for "investigation purposes".

The victim complied and handed over all her jewellery to the 26-year-old woman in the vicinity of Telok Blangah to prove her innocence, according to the release.

She later realised that she had been scammed and lodged a police report.

Arrested

Following this, officers from the Anti-Scam Command and Clementi Police Division established the 26-year-old woman's identity through extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations, and arrested her on May 7.

Jewellery believed to belong to other scam victims, as well as several fake staff passes, were recovered from her, the release noted.

It added that preliminary investigations revealed that unknown persons, believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, had allegedly tasked the woman to collect the jewellery from scam victims before bringing them back to Malaysia.

Penalties

The woman will be charged with the offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992.

According to the release, the offence carries a jail term of up to ten years, a fine not exceeding S$500,000, or both.

With effect from Dec. 30, 2025, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, up to a maximum of 24 strokes, the release stated.

It added that scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.

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

It noted that under the Facility Restriction Framework, individuals involved in mule-related offences — whether they are under investigation and assessed to be at risk, or have been warned, issued with composition sums, prosecuted, or convicted — may face restrictions on banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further facilitation of scams.

Reminders

The release reminded members of the public to:

• Never transfer cash, jewellery or other valuables to unknown persons whose identity has not been verified
• Never leave money or valuables at a location to facilitate subsequent collection
• Never share the screen of their device or disclose login credentials to anyone

It added that the Singapore government will never ask members of the public to:

• Transfer money over the phone
• Request their banking login details
• Instruct them to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores, or
• Transfer their call to the police

The release stated that members of the public who have information regarding such crimes may call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit information online.

They may also visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 for more information.