Influencer turned prolific fraudster jailed for over 32 months for cheating, forgery and theft

As a local influencer, Chin Tung Sheng had more than 334,000 followers on his Instagram account, where he flaunted the high life in branded garb and posted pictures of himself in fancy cars and at luxury brand events.

But on March 19, Chin’s reality took a sharp turn. Dressed in a plain white prison shirt, the 26-year-old appeared in court via video link and was sentenced to 32 months and one week in jail.

District Judge Kenneth Chin said it was clear that Chin was a prolific fraudster who committed multiple similar offences over a substantial period of time.

“His forged documents ranged from bank statements, Acra business accounts, and even a letter from the Prime Minister’s Office,” said the judge. “He also created 26 separate e-mails and 27 mobile numbers to further his schemes.”

One such incident involved cheating a food delivery rider of $63 by forging a PayNow receipt on July 21, 2022. No restitution was made.

The judge said the defence’s submissions that cheating the rider warranted only a day’s jail was “wholly inadequate” and instead imposed a week’s jail for the offence.

He added that little weight should be given to the fact that Chin had no prior offences, as he had committed multiple offences – some while breaching his 24-month conditional warning imposed on Jan 8, 2021.

In fact, Chin had stopped offending only after the law finally caught up with him, the judge added.

He also disagreed with the defence’s submissions that Chin’s actions were not premeditated, pointing to how Chin had scouted a Sentosa bungalow several times and even went there at different times of the day, pretending to be interested in renting the house.

Investigations revealed that Chin had broken into the house between November and December 2023 and stolen around $200,000 worth of designer items, including Louis Vuitton trunks and other display ornaments.

No restitution has been made to date.

Between August 2020 and April 2021, Chin created more than 25 different membership accounts to submit forged payment receipts to Ion Orchard to receive membership points.

He exchanged these membership points for mall shopping vouchers on at least 96 occasions. In total, more than $76,900 worth of vouchers were handed to Chin.

Separately, in July 2022, Chin booked a stay at Amara Sanctuary Sentosa and deceived the hotel receptionist that he had made full payment of over $13,200 for the stay by using a doctored photo of a PayNow transaction.

In 2020, Chin also forged multiple documents as he wanted to convince potential business partners that he had connections to the Singapore Government and had strong financial backing.

These documents included his bank account balances, which he doctored to show that he had more than $1.8 billion in one and $16.9 million in another.

He also made use of a letter that was addressed to his previous company from the Prime Minister’s Office and changed its contents to make it seem like it was addressed only to him, thanking him for his efforts in helping Singapore by providing medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic.

His carefully curated world came crumbling down on March 7, when he pleaded guilty to seven charges, including cheating, theft and forgery. 

While delivering his sentence on March 19, the judge said the length of the jail term was appropriate and could not be said to be crushing, as Chin had committed multiple offences.

The judge added that he hoped these episodes would serve as a lesson to Chin, who replied that he had learnt his lesson.

On March 16, experts told The Straits Times that social media can sometimes make crime seem aspirational rather than reckless.

Dr Annabelle Chow, principal clinical psychologist at Annabelle Psychology, said social media platforms can act as breeding grounds for those seeking admiration or validation from others.

Social media has also led to a thriving “flex” culture, where influencers “flex” or flaunt their lives to become the source of envy among their community.

Others like Mr Riko Isaac, a criminal lawyer in Singapore, have noticed a worrying trend of more young people getting involved in crime in exchange for fast or easy money.

“Most of these youth seem to feel a need to satisfy a deeper insecurity of not being successful enough unless they are perceived to have a luxurious lifestyle,” he said.

Andrew Wong is a journalist with The Straits Times’ crime and courts desk.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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