S'porean man, 37, flew to Cambodia to scam S'pore residents while on remission order for cheating

After he was released from prison for cheating, a Singaporean man was still on a remission order when he flew to Cambodia and helped an organised criminal group cheat others in Singapore.

For about a month from October 2024, Muhammad Firdaus Bin Abdul Rahman, now 37, impersonated government officials in scam calls to people in Singapore.

Then, after he returned to Singapore, he took another job from someone still linked to the group, helping to collect a total of S$656,788 in cash from scam victims in April and May 2025.

On Jun. 22, he was convicted of being a member of an organised criminal group, and assisting someone in gaining benefits from criminal conduct, both breaching the conditions of his remission order.

Accepting a scam job

Prior to this offence, Firdaus was sentenced in November 2022 to two years and seven months in prison for cheating, according to court documents.

After his release, he was placed on a remission order from Sep. 24, 2024, to Aug. 3, 2025.

Sometime before October 2024, when Firdaus was no longer subjected to electronic monitoring, he learnt about a scam job in Cambodia.

A friend of his, identified as Jackson Lim Soon Lai, reached out with the job offer, telling Firdaus that the basic pay was S$1,000 on top of a 3 per cent commission.

Firdaus accepted the job knowing that Lim was in the business of engaging in illegal activity, the court documents Mothership saw stated.

Impersonating government officials

After flying to Cambodia on Oct. 3, 2024, Firdaus worked in an office heavily guarded with about 15 guards and some guard dogs, located near one of the country's borders.

The office had about 60 people carrying out various kinds of scams, Firdaus said later.

The women engaged in internet love scams, while he and another man impersonated government officials.

They were instructed to make calls to Singapore phone numbers and claim that they were from the Singapore Cyber Emergency Response Team (SingCERT), a government-run organisation that responds to cybersecurity incidents.

Firdaus was to call about cybersecurity-related issues, and if the receiver believed him, he would transfer the call to another line for a colleague to talk to them.

If the syndicate manages to successfully scam the receiver into transferring money to them, and if Firdaus was the one who made the initial call, he would get a cut of the money.

After making such scam calls for about a month, Firdaus was hospitalised, with his medical fees paid for by the scam syndicate.

After he was discharged, he flew back to Singapore alone.

Collecting money and information

Back in Singapore, Firdaus continued to assist Lim with tasks knowing that they were linked to scams.

As requested by Lim, he would send information about the Singapore police and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), ranging from pictures to information about their activity publicly available on the internet.

Around Apr. 19, 2025, Lim asked him for help to collect packages of money and hand them off to a stranger, promising payment for his assistance.

Knowing that the money were benefits from criminal conduct, Firdaus took the job, and collected about S$656,788 from 14 different victims of government official impersonation scams.

The places he went to collect the money included residential flats, shopping malls, and a playground.

He was paid at least S$1,000 for this job.

Without providing details on how he was caught, court documents stated that Firdaus was arrested on May 5, 2025, and has been in remand since.

Sentencing

The prosecutor sought a prison sentence from five years and seven months, to six years and three months, with an enhancement of up to about eight months for the breaching of his remission order.

Including the assistance he provided after returning to Singapore, Firdaus' involvement with criminal group went on for seven months, only stopping due to his arrest by the police, the prosecutor pointed out.

In court, Firdaus' lawyer called for a shorter sentence, The Straits Times reported.

Firdaus had a heart-related health issue, and was in a coma for three days while he was in remand, the lawyer said.

He will be sentenced in August.