Consumer complaints against the beauty industry rose to 1,124 over the first half of 2026, the most reported among Singapore industries to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).

Over S$1.9 million losses from prepayment packages were recorded from these complaints.

This is close to 18 times the S$108,000 in losses recorded from 558 beauty-related complaints in the first half of 2025.

Abrupt beauty business closures

"The increases in complaints and prepayment losses were largely driven by the abrupt closure of several beauty and wellness businesses," CASE explained.

Following such sudden closures, consumers were not able to utilise their prepaid packages. The association highlighted recent examples that made headlines.

The Wan Yang chain of massage and foot reflexology parlours, which abruptly closed all outlets in November 2025, led to over S$137,000 in losses for unutilised prepaid packages.

The February 2026 closure of Royal Secrets Wellness beauty salon and spa resulted in prepayment losses exceeding S$1 million. One person reported a loss of about S$50,000.

Nearly four in 10 complaints CASE received against the beauty industry were related to businesses failing to honour these types of contractual obligations.

About 15.3 per cent of complaints involved alleged unethical sales tactics, while a further 13.8 per cent concerned delayed, refused, or withheld refunds.

Risks of making upfront payments

CASE President Melvin Yong called the sharp rise in beauty-related prepayment losses "deeply concerning".

"Behind the reported losses are consumers who paid in advance for services they may never receive. This underscores the risks of making large upfront payments for beauty packages, especially when businesses close suddenly."

CASE will continue to call for stronger safeguards to better protect consumers' prepayments.

In the meantime, Yong advised consumers to avoid making large advance payments where possible, and consider paying per use or in smaller instalments.

Electrical and electronics

After beauty, the four most complained-about industries for this period are, in descending order, electrical and electronics, motorcars, travel, and renovation contractors.

The number of complaints against the electrical and electronics industry dipped slightly from 571 in the first half of 2025, to 530 in the same period in 2026.

Most of them (about 38.9 per cent) involved products that were defective or did not conform to contract terms.

About 14.7 per cent were related to businesses failing to honour their contractual obligations, and 9.4 per

cent concerned delayed, refused, or withheld refunds.

Motorcars

Motorcars, which received the highest complaints the previous year with 573, fell to third place this time with 488 complaints.

About 45.7 per cent of them were related to purchases and privately owned cars, while another 12.5 per cent involved car-sharing services.

Travel

As for the travel industry, complaints increased by 19.3 per cent from the previous year to 192 in the first half of 2026.

About 36.9 per cent of complaints against the travel industry concerned delays or refusals in processing refunds.

A further 17.3 per cent were about businesses failing to honour confirmed bookings or agreed travel arrangements.

CASE said that the rise in travel and airline-related complaints comes amid recent air travel disruptions caused by geopolitical tensions and changes to flight schedules.

As a result of these conditions, chances of cancellations, itinerary changes, and service disruptions increased.

It is particularly common in cases where consumers make transactions through intermediaries such as online travel agencies.

Renovation contractors

CASE received 402 complaints against the renovation contractor industry in the first half of 2026, a very slight 1.5 per cent decrease from the same period in 2025.

Most consumers reported dissatisfaction with the quality of services rendered such as poor workmanship, and contractors' failure to honour obligations.

Defective or non-conforming goods, and delays in delivery were also key concerns raised.

Some residents at One Pearl Bank in Outram Park were left unhappy after access to their 39th-floor sky garden was restricted to ticket holders during a National Day event.

The space was open from 5pm to 9pm for ticket-holders, according to a resident who spoke to 8days.sg, leaving residents without tickets unable to watch the National Day Parade fireworks from the sky garden.

The restriction to the floor also extended to the gym and social lounge on the same floor, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The event included a live screening of the celebrations and a buffet, with tickets priced at S$5 for children and S$10 for adults.

The management clarified with Mothership that the temporary access arrangements were implemented for safety and crowd-management purposes.

No access

The resident had planned to watch the fireworks from the sky garden, but made other plans after learning that access would be restricted to ticket holders.

He expressed his disappointment at being unable to watch the fireworks comfortably from his own home.

“I was rejected from my own home,” he told 8days.sg.

The resident, who owns a two-bedroom unit worth about S$2 million and pays more than S$300 a month in maintenance fees, said the issue was not the ticket price.

Rather, he felt residents should have priority when it came to common areas.

Safety and crowd-management purposes

In response to Mothership's queries, the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) Council and Savills Property Management, the managing agent of One Pearl Bank, clarified that the temporary access arrangements were implemented for safety and crowd-management purposes.

Level 39 is subject to a statutory SCDF occupant load limit of 157 persons, which applies to the level as a whole, the statement said.

To manage attendance within this limit, management said access to level 39 was temporarily restricted to registered event participants and essential event personnel from 5pm to 9pm.

Taking into account management, security and cleaning personnel needed for the event, 120 tickets were made available to residents, 8days.sg reported.

"Residents were informed of the arrangements in advance, and normal access resumed after the event," they added.

"The celebration was organised as a community event for residents, with registration required to facilitate attendance planning and crowd management."

They added that the nominal contribution of SS$5 for children and S$10 for adults was collected to cover catering costs.

Others felt the same way

Others felt the same.

In residents' chat messages seen by 8days.sg, one resident said that while paying to attend a booked function seemed reasonable, blocking off the entire level made them “feel uneasy”.

Another said the “main gripe” was residents' “freedom of passage and usage of common facilities”.

Residents also questioned whether similar restrictions could be imposed during future celebrations, such as New Year's Eve.

A 41-year-old male Chinese national was sentenced to three years and eight months’ jail after breaking into homes and stealing about S$105,750 worth of valuables in Singapore.

Huang Xiaozong pleaded guilty to two charges of housebreaking and was sentenced on Aug. 14.

Another trespassing charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Visit

In court documents seen by Mothership, Huang visited Singapore on Dec. 5, 2025, and stayed at a hotel in Little India.

This was his first visit to the country.

He “had thoughts of stealing things” as he wanted to earn some money.

Huang also “noticed that Singapore is very nice and rich”.

He decided to look for homes in wealthier parts of Singapore.

When no one appeared to be home, he would enter them and steal items.

Capella Suite

On Dec. 6, 2025, Huang went to Sentosa and walked around the island.

He then chanced upon the Capella Suite.

Huang noticed the lights were off, and it appeared that no one was inside.

He managed to gain entry to the suite by using the rear balcony door, a sliding door he forced open.

After entering, he searched the suite and found jewellery in the glass display cabinet in the living room and some other valuables in the master bedroom’s wardrobe.

Huang managed to steal items that had an estimated total value of S$58,000.

The items comprised one “Chanel” watch valued at about S$30,000, five rings valued at about S$25,000 and a gold necklace valued at S$3,000.

He then returned to his hotel in Little India.

On Dec. 8, 2025, at about 9:10am, the housekeeper of the suite noticed the theft when she discovered footprints on the floor, shifts in the sofa, and an empty glass cabinet.

She informed her supervisor of the situation, who in turn alerted the hotel’s management, which called the police.

Serangoon

On Dec. 7, 2025, Huang went to the Serangoon area after doing some research online.

Between 7pm and 8pm, he arrived at a home and noticed it was in total darkness, and it appeared as if no one was inside.

Huang climbed over a metal gate to enter the home.

After entering, he searched the home and found jewellery from the makeup table of one of the bedrooms.

Huang managed to steal items that had an estimated total value of S$47,750.

The items comprised two “Tiffany & Co” couple wedding rings valued at about S$25,000, one “Tiffany & Co” heart-shaped key pendant with diamonds, valued at about S$10,000, one pair of “Tiffany & Co” diamond earrings, valued at about S$5,000, one white gold necklace with diamonds, valued at about S$5,000, two silver bracelets of unknown value, three gold necklaces, valued at about S$800, one bracelet, yellow in colour, valued at about S$50, three pairs of earrings, yellow in colour, valued at about S$400, four rings, yellow in colour, valued at about S$1,500.

Huang then decided to go to another house in the Serangoon area and arrived at about 8pm.

He climbed over a metal gate to gain entry.

However, Huang was spotted by a domestic helper who was in the house, who asked him what he was doing there.

He responded in Mandarin, which the domestic helper did not understand.

Huang then climbed out of the house and fled the premises.

When the second victim returned home at around 8:40pm, she was alarmed to find her dressing table in a mess, and her wedding rings missing.

Her husband alerted the police to the situation at about 8:41pm.

She later discovered more items missing after performing a thorough check.

Arrest

After the theft, Huang returned to his hotel in Little India before changing hotels to one along Kampong Bahru Road on Dec. 8, 2025.

Huang was eventually traced to the hotel he had moved to and arrested on the same evening.

The stolen items were found in his possession and seized.

Huang has been in remand since.

Transnational

The prosecution sought three years and nine months’ jail to four years and one month’s jail.

They argued that Huang “specifically scouted residential houses which he believed

were empty for him to enter and steal items”.

They also noted that the offences were “transnational in nature” because Huang committed them one day after arriving in Singapore.

According to CNA, Huang’s lawyers said Huang’s offences were “amateurish”.

He pointed out that the losses were minimal as the stolen items were eventually recovered.

For house-breaking, Huang could have been jailed up to 10 years and fined.

An 18-year-old Australian golfer has died in Thailand after suffering a brain haemorrhage on Aug. 13.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by her cousins, Jessica Bang collapsed on Aug. 1 while preparing for a golf tournament in Bangkok.

She was due to compete in the International Qualifying Tournament for the Korean women's professional tour, ABC News reported.

Bang had recently won her first professional event at just her fifth start in February 2026.

Her cousins said she had shown a promising future in golf and earned the nickname "Rookie Bang".

Funds raised will go to her parents to help with her medical expenses, they added.

At the time of writing, AUD$48,423 (S$43,803) had been raised.

Promising golfer

The Women's Professional Golfers' Association (WPGA) Tour of Australasia announced Bang's death in a Facebook statement on Aug. 13.

"The WPGA Tour of Australasia and the broader Australian golf community is deeply saddened by the passing of young Tour member Jessica Bang in Thailand," it said.

The tour described Bang as an "outstanding young talent" who made a significant impression during her short time on the Tour.

"She had earned her place on the WPGA Tour through Qualifying School at the end of 2025, following an outstanding amateur career," it said.

"The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the broader Australian golf community are with Jessica’s family, friends and all those who knew and loved her at this incredibly difficult time."

A 22-year-old man in Singapore decided to pursue a career as a waste collector in Singapore.

Muhamad Danial Aiman Abdul Muttalib has documented his work as a waste collector on TikTok.

@dannyarmani_ A day in the life of a recycle waste attendant 🧤 inspiration from @AshKT #fyp #kerja ♬ BREAKBEAT DANZA KUDURO X AMERICAN DREAM V2 - ᴡᴇs. ᴢᴀɴ

Danial has reportedly been working at the waste management company 800 Super for about five months.

For the better

Danial, the oldest of three siblings, told Berita Harian he entered this line of work to prove he could change his life for the better after feeling he had let his family down.

“I entered this industry by accident after being invited by a friend to attend an interview. At that time, I wasn't really picky about the job offered, as long as it was an honest source of income," he said.

Danial also admitted to having difficulty finding employment.

He previously worked as a food delivery rider.

"I had dropped out of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), and my performance during National Service was also not very good," he said.

Challenges

One of the challenges he faces is the weather, as he works regardless of rain or shine.

He also noted the stigma surrounding waste collectors.

“This job is often associated with a shameful or low-paid job, and some even think that this industry is mostly for the Malay community. That perception is not accurate because this industry also involves workers from various backgrounds and races,” he clarified.

Danial also admitted that the job offers a “fairly good income”.

He also explained that he would clean himself up after his shift.

“I handle more recyclable materials, so the smell is more of a box and sweat than a really bad waste,” he said.

“Why should I care”

Despite receiving negative comments on social media about his job, Danial claims he does not take them seriously.

To Danial, earning an honest living mattered more than opinions of others.

He said: “People can say anything. I know what I’m doing is not wrong. Why should I care what people think when I’m earning a living in an honest way?”

A 29-year-old man was arrested after police discovered suspected drugs, a vaporiser, and several offensive weapons inside a van in Yishun on Aug. 13.

According to a report by Shin Min Daily News, the incident took place at about 5:05am along Yishun Street 31, outside the multi-storey car park at Block 333.

Van rented through a rental platform

A resident, Lin, told Shin Min that he noticed several police vehicles and a van parked by the roadside when he looked out of his window at around 7am that day.

He added that he saw officers unloading items from the van and placing them on nearby bushes, where they appeared to be documenting evidence.

"I saw them searching, but I live on a higher floor, so it was hard to see clearly," he said.

When Shin Min reporters arrived at the scene, the van remained parked on the side of the road, beside a construction site.

As the incident took place on a two-way road, construction workers were seen directing traffic.

The van was also reportedly rented through the van rental platform LoadUp.

At least four police vehicles and a Crime Scene Investigation vehicle were present.

Residents interviewed by Shin Min said that while they noticed the heavy police presence, they did not see the van driver.

Police found suspected drugs, vape and weapons

In response to Mothership's queries, the police confirmed receiving a call for assistance at the aforementioned location.

Upon arrival, officers checked and woke up a man who was sleeping in the driver's seat of a van.

The 29-year-old man was subsequently found in possession of suspected drugs, one vaporiser, and an assortment of weapons including knuckledusters and karambits.

He was later arrested for possession of offensive weapons, driving while under the influence of drugs, as well as suspected drug-related and vaporiser-related offences.

The suspected drug-related offences have been referred to the Central Narcotics Bureau, and the vaporiser-related offences have been referred to the Health Sciences Authority.

Investigations are ongoing.

Investigation allegedly lasted over four hours

According to Shin Min, police remained at the scene for more than four hours and also deployed police dogs during the investigation.

At around 9am, three police cars and the Crime Scene Investigation vehicle had left, leaving one police car and two officers behind.

A tow truck arrived at around 9:20am and towed the van away.

Lin said he saw police dogs around the van at about 8am, and believed they were searching for drug-related evidence.

The van also appeared to have sustained a dent on its right side, as well as black scratches on the driver's door, which reportedly could not be closed properly.

When contacted by Shin Min, LoadUp said it was unable to comment as the case remains under police investigation.

With the arrest and extradition of former lawyer Lim Tean, there has been much talk about his decision to evade jail by escaping to Johor.

His escape was short-lived, but what about other people who have absconded from Singaporean justice? Here are four other prominent names who have fled, or tried to flee, Singapore to evade the law.

Mas Selamat Kastari

Of all the people who have absconded from Singaporean law, none has made as large an impact as Mas Selamat Kastari.

Mas Selamat was the former head of Jemaah Islamiyah's Singapore branch who famously escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre in February 2008.

A suspected terrorist, he had been detained for nearly two years since 2006, when he was deported from Indonesia to Singapore, where he was detained without trial under the Internal Security Act.

He took advantage of a family visit day, when he was allowed to change into civilian clothes.

Asking for privacy, he went into a toilet stall, was allowed to close the door behind him and be totally obscured from sight.

There he let a tap run, while he escaped through a grille-less window, climbed down a drainpipe, and slipped through a weak point in the centre’s fencing.

He evaded police for four days despite an extensive manhunt, and managed to swim across the Strait of Johor undetected.

Once in Johor, he managed to evade police for over a year before he was arrested in a small hamlet located just outside Johor Bahru.

He was eventually found after the Royal Malaysia Police detained three former JI members, who revealed Mas Selamat’s location under interrogation.

Mas Selamat was detained for two years by Malaysia and was eventually transferred to Singaporean custody in 2010, where he remains imprisoned indefinitely.

Pony Poh

Unlike Mas Selamat, over whom a lot of ink has been spilt about his escape and return, more mysterious is the fate of one Pony Poh.

Poh Yuan Nie, also known as Pony Poh, was a principal of a tuition centre who was found guilty of 27 counts of cheating for helping six foreign students cheat during the 2016 GCSE O-Level examinations.

As part of an elaborate scheme, Poh masterminded a scheme where one accomplice would take an examination and transmit the questions to another pair of accomplices who would work out the answers.

The pair would then send the answers to the six students, who would be wearing concealed smartphones and flesh-tone earphones to receive.

But the plan was foiled when an invigilator noticed electronic sounds and voices coming from one of the students.

Poh was found to be the mastermind of the scheme, and in 2020 was sentenced to four years in jail.

During the trial, Poh's lawyer appeared to insinuate that the offences stemmed from one of Poh's accomplices being a spurned lover, who was in a relationship with Poh for seven years but did not realise that Poh was not a man.

But Poh, then 56, failed to appear in court on Nov. 23, 2022, and in December 2022, the Deputy Public Prosecutor applied to the court for a warrant of arrest for Poh to be executed outside of the jurisdiction.

This allowed for an Interpol Red Notice to be made.

As of January 2025, Poh and about 40 other Singaporeans have Interpol Red Notices against them.

Despite this, Poh has evaded arrest for nearly four years.

Nick Leeson

Nick Leeson will be instantly familiar to millennials of a certain age or, weirdly, die-hard Ewan McGregor fans.

Nick Leeson was the British derivatives trader who famously single-handedly brought down one of the United Kingdom’s oldest financial institutions, Barings Bank.

Barings was founded in 1762 and set up Barings Futures (Singapore) (BFS) in 1986, with Leeson arriving in the country in 1992 as BFS's derivatives operations manager and eventually as a trader.

Leeson’s responsibilities eventually came to encompass front office operations, such as trading, but also back office operations, which processed the paperwork for such trades.

According to The Independent, this allowed Leeson to operate a secret and unauthorised trading account that was referred to as the “88888” account, which he used to hide trading losses.

It came to a head in 1995 when Leeson was betting on the Nikkei Index not falling below 19,000 points, when the 1995 Kobe earthquake hit, causing the stock exchange to plunge, causing losses of nearly S$1.4 billion.

Leeson realised that he would not be able to hide his losses, and chose to flee, first to Kuala Lumpur, and then back to England via Frankfurt.

Between 1992 and 1995, Leeson managed to rack up S$2.2 billion, about S$3.5 billion today, in losses in the account, coming close to being discovered on several occasions but managing to keep it hidden.

The bank was not able to absorb such a loss, causing the over 200-year-old bank to go into administration, and a warrant of arrest to be issued for Leeson.

Leeson was detained in Frankfurt when he arrived, initially attempting to fight extradition, but eventually agreed to return and pled guilty to two charges of fraud and forgery.

He was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, during which time his wife would divorce him, and he would be diagnosed with colon cancer.

He was eventually released early on one-third remission in 1999 for good behaviour, and eventually returned to the UK, where he has become a speaker at the after-dinner and keynote speaking circuits.

His actions would inform Singapore's amendments to the Futures Trading Act and take other measures to strengthen its regulatory framework of futures trading.

Perhaps the oddest thing to emerge from this is the 1999 Ewan McGregor film Rogue Trader, where he plays Leeson, which came out the same year he played Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode One.

It's a hard film to recommend; you might be better off watching Rogue Trader instead.

David James Roach

Another absconder that was eventually caught was the Standard Chartered robber.

In 2016, Canadian David James Roach robbed the Holland Village Branch of Standard Chartered Bank, making off with S$30,450 in cash.

He had handed the bank teller a note telling her, "This is a robbery, give me money, don't call the police, I have a weapon."

But in truth, all he had done was tuck his hand into an empty sling bag, and pretended that he had kept his weapon there.

Having robbed the bank at 11 am, by 2.40 pm the same day Roach was on an AirAsia flight to Bangkok.

But he was arrested upon arrival in Bangkok, not for the robbery, but for bringing more than US$20,000 in cash in Singapore currency, a restricted good.

Thai authorities declined to extradite him to Singapore, instead deciding to jail him for 14 months, after which they deported him to Canada.

But his route back to Canada took him through the United Kingdom, where he was further detained by UK police who agreed to return him to Singapore, but on the condition that the Singapore government promised not to cane Roach.

Roach eventually pled guilty to one charge of robbery and another of transferring criminal proceeds out of Singapore, and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and six strokes of the cane.

He was granted clemency in 2021 by then-president Halimah Yacob regarding his caning sentence, in order to fulfil the assurances given to the UK government that allowed Roach’s return.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) seized a personal mobility device (PMD) that was caught on camera speeding in the Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE).

Two people were seen riding the PMD.

In a Facebook post on Aug. 13, LTA wrote: "The device was seized within 3 days of the incident. Investigations are ongoing."

Triggered KPE speed camera

Dashcam footage shared by SG Road Vigilante showed two persons riding the PMD as it overtook several vehicles in an expressway tunnel.

The incident apparently occurred at around 7:15pm on Jul. 12.

PMDs are not allowed on all roads in Singapore.

A flash of light was also caught on video when the PMD riders negotiated a bend.

This was likely in response to beating the speed limit of 70kmh to 80kmh in the tunnel.

The PMD, which appeared to lack a registration plate, was then seen approaching the south-bound Airport Road exit.

Motorised PMDs are to have a maximum speed limit of 25kmh.

All registered PMDs must display an LTA-issued registration mark at the front or sides of the device.

LTA also said its officers spotted 310 offences and impounded 100 non-compliant devices during various enforcement operations targeting errant cyclists and device users last month.

A former mosque caretaker and a cleaner in Malaysia have been fined RM5,000 (S$1,565) each by the Melaka Syariah High Court after pleading guilty to attempting to have illicit sex in a mosque's mortuary room.

Mohd Rafi Abu Samah, 48, a widower with four children, and Norhaslinda Hashim, 51, a married mother of eight, will each serve 18 months' jail if they fail to pay, according to The Star.

"You could have been washed there straight away"

Judge Mawardi Che Man deemed the offence particularly serious due to its location in the mosque’s mortuary room, which is used to prepare the deceased for burial.

He said before passing sentence: "You are lucky you did not end up as corpses while committing the act. Otherwise, you could have been washed there straight away."

He noted that while the mortuary room is separate from the main prayer hall, it remains within the mosque grounds.

He said: "This is where the deceased undergo their final cleansing before burial. Instead, a grave sin was committed there."

According to Sinar Harian, the judge spent close to 30 minutes admonishing the pair.

He also told them that while adultery can be punishable by stoning under Islamic law, Malaysia’s syariah legal system is “takzir” in nature, with punishments aimed at prevention and education.

The charge

The court heard that the pair had engaged in illicit sexual acts several times in the mortuary room of Masjid Al-Ibadah in Kampung Bukit Piatu between Jan. and Apr., The Star reported.

Despite the multiple incidents, prosecutors filed only one charge against each of them based on the evidence available.

The charge related to an incident between 8am and noon on an unspecified date in Apr., when the pair allegedly attempted to have illicit sexual intercourse despite not being legally married to each other under Islamic law.

How the case came to light

The pair were handed over to the Melaka Islamic Religious Department’s enforcement division at around 4:30pm on Jun. 4, after police received a report alleging rape.

Police investigations later found that the acts were consensual and had taken place on multiple occasions.

Mitigation and sentencing

Melaka Chief Syarie Prosecutor Wan Mahyuddin Wan Muhammad, assisted by syarie prosecutor Radzwan Abdullah, called for a deterrent sentence, citing the sanctity of the location and the positions both held at the mosque.

Sinar Harian reported that in mitigation, the pair's lawyer Muhammad Ammar Yaser Ahmad Nazri asked the court to take into account that both had pleaded guilty voluntarily and understood the consequences.

The court heard Mohd Rafi had no income besides his allowance as a mosque committee member, and resigned once the matter became public.

Norhaslinda has been married for nearly 30 years and earns about RM50 (S$15.66) a day at a restaurant, on top of RM520 (S$162.85) a month as a part-time cleaner at the mosque.

An Indonesian woman, who began by selling Taylor Swift concert tickets, went on to cheat victims of more than S$1.9 million.

In total, she was given 39 charges, according to court documents.

Nila Anggraini Citra Sejati, 32, was sentenced to 8.5 years on cheating charges, among others.

She faced 11 charges with 28 charges taken into consideration during sentencing.

Concert tickets and holidays

The offences began in 2023.

She used her travel booking businesses, Argo Sejati Corporation and Paul Sejati Corporation, to run her scheme.

There were two types of scams: An e-commerce scam, where victims thought they were making real purchases, and a second scam where victims invested in her company hoping for returns with promises to nearly double their money.

She essentially ran a Ponzi scheme, where she used money from later investors to pay earlier ones, and also enriched herself by paying off debt and buying luxury goods.

Nila told victims she could get them flight tickets, hotel bookings and cruise tickets at preferential rates, and that she had Taylor Swift concert tickets for sale.

Victims transferred money to her bank accounts thinking they were paying for actual travel arrangements or tickets.

To make the ticket sales look legitimate, she sent victims forged emails made to appear as though they had come from Ticketmaster.

In one case, a forged screenshot of a Ticketmaster email was sent instead.

She would also make genuine bookings, but make partial payment, leading to cancellations.

The victim who suffered the most losses in this phase lost S$80,285 across 21 occasions between September and October 2023, after being led to believe Nila could arrange discounted flights, cruise tickets and hotel bookings.

Another lost S$21,744 across 12 occasions between August and October 2023 over flight tickets and hotel bookings.

Investment scheme

In 2024, Nila began telling victims she could obtain discounted flight tickets through legitimate commercial arrangements, and that they could earn returns by putting money into her operation.

In one case, luxury bags were added to the offer.

The amounts cheated became far larger.

One victim transferred S$606,800 across 17 occasions between May and October 2024.

Another victim transferred S$344,855 across two occasions in August 2024, believing he would see returns from investing in her discounted flights and luxury bags business model.

Separately, she dishonestly misappropriated S$25,500 that had been entrusted to her.

Most of the victims did not receive restitution.

Her victims included friends and their partners, ordinary travel customers, concertgoers, as well as men she dated.

One of the victims incurred debts that could not be paid off even after liquidating assets and working for more than one-and-a-half decades.