An Indian-origin man, Arivalagan Muthusamy, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail on Wednesday, June 4. He had pleaded guilty to 21 out of 62 cheating charges.
The court heard that he cheated at least 61 victims and collected about SGD 310,000 over a period of about six months.
According to a report by Channel News Asia, Arivalagan pretended to be a representative of the building management at commercial places. He contacted contractors and asked them to pay money as a security deposit or for other work-related reasons before any actual work began. He gave them bank account details to transfer the money.
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To carry out the plan, he needed many bank accounts and phone numbers. So, he got help from two other men. Between late 2022 and mid-2023, he cheated several contractors in this way, pretending to offer maintenance work.
He was arrested on July 4, 2023, and was charged in court the next day. The Deputy Public Prosecutor handling the case said that the number of offences was very high and involved a group effort. The use of others to help in the crime was also considered a serious offence.
Arivalagan has a criminal history going back to 2010, mainly for property-related crimes. Because he committed these new offences while he was still serving remission from his earlier sentence, he will also have to spend an extra 88 days in jail.
