Four charged in Singapore after ‘spiritual' scam leaves victim with bag of leaves
SINGAPORE, June 7 — Four Chinese nationals have been charged in court in Singapore for allegedly orchestrating a scam that saw victims deceived into handing over cash and jewellery for so-called religious blessing rituals.
According to Channel News Asia (CNA), Huang Ximing, 61, Zhong Weifeng, 58, Huang Qinyan, 47, and Huang Meiling, 56, each face two counts of cheating in furtherance of a conspiracy, the Singapore Police Force said in a statement yesterday.
The alleged scam came to light after a victim lodged a police report on June 3, claiming she had been approached by three women in Chinatown.
According to charge sheets, the incident began when Huang Meiling asked the victim for directions to a Chinese physician. Zhong Weifeng then stepped in, claiming to know one.
Zhong reportedly told the victim that the physician could only consult outside her premises due to overcrowding and asked the victim to pose as a relative.
The two then led her to Huang Qinyan, who allegedly posed as the physician and told the victim she was 'experiencing misfortune due to negative spiritual elements'.
The three women arranged to meet the victim at Hong Lim Park, where she was persuaded to hand over S$700 (RM2,300) in cash and a gold necklace with a 'Guan Yin' pendant.
Huang Qinyan is said to have placed the items in a black plastic bag and performed a blessing ritual, before instructing the victim to store the bag unopened under her bed for a month.
When the victim opened the bag the next day, she found only leaves inside.
A day later, police received another report of a similar scam in the Clementi area. In this case, two women allegedly approached a second victim, noticed cash in her bag, and convinced her to place her money — totalling S$700 — into a black trash bag for 'safekeeping'. The cash later went missing.
The four accused were arrested on June 5 following extensive ground enquiries and CCTV analysis. The gold necklace was recovered, and police also seized S$1,311 and 10,050 Chinese yuan in cash.
Charges state that on June 3 at around 3pm, near Commonwealth Avenue West, the group acted in concert to deceive another victim into believing they had special techniques to protect her valuables. She was allegedly tricked into handing over an envelope of cash to Huang Meiling and Huang Qinyan.
Huang Ximing, Zhong, and Huang Qinyan appeared via video link in court, where the prosecution sought a one-week remand with permission to take them out for investigations, citing the need to trace potential accomplices, identify more victims, and conduct scene visits. The court granted the application. Huang Meiling was charged separately.
All four are due to return to court on June 13.
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