Woman, 25 & man, 33, both Chinese nationals, allegedly made & used counterfeit S'pore currency notes at casino

Two Chinese nationals, a 25-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man, were charged with allegedly engaging in a conspiracy to counterfeit Singapore currency notes.

Yang Zelong, 33, and Han Wenqian, 25, were charged on Aug. 26, The Straits Times reported.

On Aug. 24, at about 3:50am, the police received a report that Yang had attempted to change a counterfeit S$100 note at Marina Bay Sands Casino.

Officers from the Central Police Division and Commercial Affairs Department attended to the case.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Yang allegedly handed over S$150,000 to the cage cashier and asked the cashier to deposit the amount into his casino account.

Upon counting the cash, the cage cashier apparently discovered that one Singapore S$100 note had the word “COPY” printed on it, and promptly reported the case.

Leave with a printer

Police officers subsequently escorted Yang to his hotel room, where they saw Han leave with a printer.

A search was conducted.

A total of 121 counterfeit S$100 notes were found in her possession.

During the search at the hotel room, officers also uncovered counterfeiting instruments including a bottle of ink, paper, and a paper cutter, which were subsequently seized as case exhibits.

For forging or counterfeiting currency or bank notes, offenders are liable to a jail term of up to 20 years, and a fine.

For using as genuine counterfeit currency or bank notes, offenders are liable to a jail term of up to 20 years, and a fine.

For possession of forged or counterfeit currency or bank notes, offenders are liable to a jail term of up to 15 years, and a fine.

For making or possessing instruments or materials for forging or counterfeiting currency or bank notes, offenders are liable to a jail term of up to 20 years, and a fine.

The police advised members of the public who receive any suspected counterfeit money to call the police at "999" immediately.

They should also note down the description of the person who presented the counterfeit note.

This includes the gender, race, age, height, build, clothing, tattoos, and language or dialect spoken.

Those who receive suspected counterfeit currency are to limit handling of the suspected counterfeit note and place it in a protective covering, such as an envelope or folded paper to prevent further tampering, before handing it over to the police.