S’pore renovation contractor, 44, gets 16 months' jail for cheating clients of over S$40,000

A 44-year-old renovation contractor was sentenced to 16 months in jail for cheating clients out of over S$40,000 to fund his personal expenses.

The accused, Shen Kaibin (transliterated), was also fined S$13,140 and ordered to pay S$22,000 in compensation, Shin Min Daily News reported.

He was sentenced on May 5.

Renovations and interior design

According to Shin Min, Shen was the owner of a company called “WS Renovation”.

Between 2022 and 2023, he worked in the renovation and interior design industry.

He acted as a contractor and collaborated with an interior design firm.

The interior design firm would then outsource renovation projects to Shen.

Clients would pay renovation fees to the design firm.

The firm would then share the profits with Shen after the renovations were completed.

Fraudulent payments

In February 2023, a homeowner approached the interior design firm through Instagram.

Shen managed to obtain the homeowner’s contact information and contacted him directly.

On Mar. 5, he quoted a renovation fee of S$55,000 and instructed the homeowner to transfer a S$5,500 deposit into his personal bank account.

To deceive the client into making further payments, Shen forged three receipts from the interior design firm between Mar. 6 and 27, 2023.

The homeowner paid a total of S$30,250 to Shen for renovations.

Discovery

In late March to early April 2023, the homeowner had several disputes with Shen regarding the renovations.

In April 2023, the homeowner contacted the interior design firm’s owner to complain about the incident.

He then discovered that the renovation fees had never been deposited into the firm’s account.

The firm was also unaware that the homeowner was its client.

Cheated the firm

On Feb. 15, 2023, Shen brought another client to purchase approximately S$8,400 of bathroom fittings and supplies.

Shen then instructed the client to tell the interior design firm’s owner that he had paid for the items on the client’s behalf.

Believing this to be standard procedure, the client confirmed this when contacted by the firm’s owner.

The company reimbursed Shen S$8,400.

Charges

Shen faced four charges, including cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery.

He pleaded guilty to two of the charges on May 5, with the remaining charges taken into consideration during sentencing.

Prosecutors said Shen had premeditated his offences and used forged receipts to deceive clients, making the crimes difficult to detect.