'Trust me completely, I am a S'porean': S'pore man, 37, allegedly scams 6 Indian nationals into paying S$14,000 for fake work permits

A man allegedly scammed six Indian nationals out of more than S$14,000 by promising to secure work permits for them in Singapore, only to hand them forged documents instead.

The alleged mastermind, Abdul Raheem Lailathul Sultanil Arebeen, 37, who has since legally changed his name to A. R. Sai, is being investigated by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for possible offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and Employment Agencies Act, according to The Straits Times (ST), which tracked him down together with Tamil Murasu.

He claims to be a Singaporean.

The police have confirmed a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

From rural Tamil Nadu

The six victims come from rural Tamil Nadu, and were hoping to secure work in Singapore to escape poverty.

They come from a community of livestock herders, rickshaw drivers, and daily wage earners, where the monthly income rarely tops S$134 to S200.

One of the victims' fathers, Indian national Vanjur Maideen Syedabthahir, said an acquaintance had introduced him to Raheem, who presented himself as a “famous film producer".

Raheem also showed Vanjur a copy of his pink Singapore NRIC to establish trust.

Vanjur told ST that Raheem had claimed that he could secure employment for his friends and relatives, including his son Sufi.

“He explicitly told me, ‘Trust me completely, I am a Singaporean. Do not pass me any money by cash as that could look suspicious; instead, deposit all the funds directly into a bank account’."

Vanjur arranged for the purchase of six work passes, for his son and five others, which Raheem said would cost S$4,000 per S Pass and S$3,000 per work permit.

He also charged five of the men S$854 each for a "training course", which he said were part of "MOM rules".

Scammed over S$14,000

Between Mar. 6 and Jun. 9, 2026, the men and their families transferred more than S$14,000 via PayNow and ATM cash deposits into bank accounts that Raheem claimed were his wife's.

The six victims, aged between 21 and 49, believed they had secured five work permits, including jobs at J&T Express Singapore, and one S Pass.

They were promised a monthly salary of S$1,300 for work as warehouse assistants.

To pay the hefty fees, the men sold ancestral livestock, pawned their daughters' wedding jewellery, and borrowed from high-interest moneylenders.

On Jul. 12, Raheem sent Vanjur digital copies of four Training Employment Pass (TEP) in-principle approval documents.

The documents stated that the four applicants should get ready to fly to Singapore by the first of July.

But Vanjur's suspicions were raised when he tried to verify the Foreign Identification Numbers (FIN) on the documents against MOM's online portal, only to find that none of them existed.

Asked for more money

In response, Raheem brushed off the discrepancy as a system error.

He told Vanjur to meet an associate known as "Kumar" in Chennai, who insisted the passes were genuine and demanded Vanjur pay a balance of about S$5,000 before he handed over the original documents.

Vanjur then decided to contact the Singapore Consulate in Chennai and emailed MOM directly.

MOM's Work Pass Division confirmed on Jun. 16, 2026 that it had no records of any work pass applications being submitted for the men.

When Vanjur presented Raheem with MOM's reply, Raheem turned aggressive.

He accused Vanjur's family of not trusting him and continued to demand the outstanding balance.

On Jun. 27, Vanjur and his son flew to Singapore and filed a police report at Toa Payoh Police Station, and were called in by MOM for an official inquiry on Jul. 15.

'Justice will be served'

Vanjur, who is almost 60 years old and has worked in Singapore since 2013, told ST he remained confident that justice would be served.

He said had worked in Singapore for many years and trusts the government's strict stance against fraud.

He added that he and the other victims has handed over all bank transaction records and WhatsApp logs to the police.

"I am confident that justice will be served and our community’s dignity will be restored.”

His son said his father used to have a "very good name" in the village and had merely been trying to help the six young men, but his reputation is now in tatters.

He hopes to retrieve not just the money lost, but also his father's lost honour.

As for the victims, their families are now left penniless, with no assets and facing immense pressure from the lenders.

"Everyone in our village works hard just to survive... We believed sending our boys abroad would finally clear our family debts," a relative told ST tearfully.

What J&T Express and MOM said

J&T Express Singapore told ST it was unaware of the case, adding that forged IPAs are sometimes used to lend legitimacy to fraudulent job offers by misusing a real company's name.

It added that all legitimate recruitment is done exclusively through JobStreet, FastJobs, MyCareersFuture, its corporate website and official social media platforms.

MOM reminded prospective workers to use only licensed employment agents and to check the authenticity of their IPA letters through its portal before travelling to Singapore.

Anyone who comes across suspicious documents is encouraged to reach out to MOM directly.

Who is the alleged scammer?

ST managed to reach out to Raheem, who denied involvement in any scam and claimed he was merely a middleman for "Kumar".

Media reports from 2009 and 2019 show that Raheem was previously involved in various criminal offences, including robbing and hitting a taxi driver, and stealing camera equipment.

He is also under investigation for a similar scam involving another group of foreign nationals in 2025.

While Raheem denied that he had changed his name to "A. R. Sai", claiming that the latter has been his name since birth, his wife confirmed via a telephone interview that he had undergone a legal name change.

ST also reported that Raheem’s associate "Kumar" was later identified as Indian national JK Shakti Balaji, who has since been uncontactable.