Charity director, 71, & another man, 39, both S'poreans, charged for extortion & cheating

A 71-year-old man, a director at a charity organisation, was charged after allegedly conspiring with a 39-year-old man to commit extortion and cheating offences.

Both of the accused are Singaporeans.

Benjie Ng Ser Kwei, 71, and Jovel Lim Yi’an, 39, were each charged with three counts of extortion and one count of cheating on May 29, The Straits Times and CNA reported.

Cheating and extortion

In charge sheets seen by Mothership, Ng and Lim apparently conspired to cheat in February 2025.

On Feb. 10, 2025, the pair allegedly attempted to cheat a man by convincing him they were from the “PAP Public Policy Forum”.

They apparently attempted to induce him into making a donation.

The amount involved was not disclosed.

The pair also allegedly attempted to commit extortion involving a woman and two other men.

They allegedly extorted the woman in Bukit Timah and one of the men, whose location was not disclosed in charge sheets, on separate occasions on Mar. 5, 2025.

The other man was purportedly extorted sometime in March 2026 in Aljunied.

Ng and Lim apparently put the victims in “fear of injury” to their reputations by informing them that they would be investigated if they did not make a financial contribution.

The alleged extortion was S$10,000 for the woman and S$50,000 for the man in Aljunied.

Their cases were adjourned to Jun. 26.

If convicted of extortion, they may be liable to a jail term of between two and five years, with caning.

If convicted of cheating, they may be liable to a jail term of up to 10 years, and/or fined, caned, or both.

Ng cannot be caned as he is over 50 years old.

Background of Ng

According to business records, Ng is a director of Yellow Tree Foundation, which undertakes humanitarian and charitable activities.

Separately, he owns The Golden Tree Foundation, a philanthropic trust.

Ng is also honorary secretary of Soon Thian Keing (Tua Konsi), a registered charity.

In a Facebook post by the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) on Apr. 1, 2022, Ng had joined the organisation as its executive director on Mar. 7, 2022.