Malaysian who accessed 17 Singapore bank accounts for syndicate in S$4 million case gets jail

Tan Kian Hoa reported to work at a location in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru, where pre-loaded phones with details on how to log into Singapore bank accounts were ready for him.

Tan Kian Hoa was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police in July and handed over to the Singapore Police Force. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

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SINGAPORE: A Malaysian man who applied for a job on Facebook wound up working for a transnational syndicate , illegally accessing 17 bank accounts in Singapore.

In total, almost S$4 million (US$3.1 million) flowed through those accounts, of which over S$21,000 was traced to reported scam cases in Singapore.

Tan Kian Hoa, 28, was sentenced to eight months' jail on Tuesday (Oct 27).

He pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal conspiracy to commit unauthorised computer access under the Computer Misuse Act.

Tan found a job through Facebook in September 2025 and applied for it.

He later chatted with an unidentified person on chat application Telegram and was told he would be paid RM3,500 monthly (S$1,090).

He was told to report for work at an address in Taman Eko Botani, in the city of Iskandar Puteri in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

An online gambling syndicate was stationed there, moving funds originating from gamblers to online casinos and paying out winnings to customers.

The syndicate operated using an in-house computer system called Trustpay, where syndicate members tracked the movement of funds from gambling customers to syndicate accounts.

Tan was to receive alerts via the Trustpay portal concerning deposits made to the syndicate's bank accounts, which were all based in Singapore and registered under names of people Tan did not know.

Tan had to confirm the deposits by logging into the accounts, using the bank's web portal and the mobile phones that had been assigned to him for the day.

Each phone was pre-loaded with the internet banking mobile application and a SIM card, with a sticker on the back identifying the account name, account number and log-in credentials of the respective bank accounts.

Tan would take a screenshot of the payment and report it to the syndicate via group chats on Telegram.

On occasions where the bank transactions did not match the amounts in the Trustpay portal, Tan would communicate with online casino customer service staff members to fix the discrepancies.

In addition to gambling funds, scam funds were also moved through the syndicate.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) received scam reports relating to 17 Maribank or GXS bank accounts under the syndicate's control.

The losses in the accounts ranged from S$150 to S$2,968.

While Tan was working, the total amount that flowed through the 17 accounts was S$3,996,971.

At all times, he knew that the syndicate carried out activities that were illegal in both Malaysia and Singapore.

SPF said in July that the syndicate was disrupted in March during Operation Frontier+ III, as a result of information provided by MariBank.

This was a joint two-month operation targeting transnational scams, which SPF conducted in partnership with nine foreign law enforcement agencies.

Tan was arrested by the Royal Malaysian Police on Jul 20 and handed over to SPF the next day.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jasmin Kaur sought eight months' jail for Tan, pointing to the amount that flowed through the 17 accounts.

Tan's lawyer, Mr Teo Choo Kee, noted that only about S$21,000 was linked to scams.

He said his client "certainly did not know" that some of the funds going through the accounts were related to scams.

For conspiracy to commit unauthorised access to computer material, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

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陈建华前往柔佛州新山依斯干达公主城的一个办公地点上班，那里已经为他准备好了预装了如何登录新加坡银行账户详细信息的手机。

陈建华于7月被马来西亚皇家警察逮捕，并移交给新加坡警察部队。照片：新加坡警察部队

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：一名马来西亚男子在 Facebook 上应聘工作，结果却为一家跨国犯罪集团工作，非法访问了新加坡的 17 个银行账户。

总计有近 400 万新元（310 万美元）资金流经这些账户，其中超过 2.1 万新元被追溯到新加坡已报告的诈骗案件。

28岁的陈建华于周二（10月27日）被判处8个月监禁。

他承认犯有一项刑事串谋罪，即违反《计算机滥用法》进行未经授权的计算机访问。

2025年9月，谭通过Facebook找到了一份工作，并申请了这份工作。

后来，他在聊天应用 Telegram 上与一名身份不明的人聊天，对方告诉他每月将获得 3,500 马币（1,090 新元）的报酬。

他被告知前往马来西亚柔佛州新山依斯干达公主城 Taman Eko Botani 的一个地址报到上班。

一个网络赌博集团驻扎在那里，将赌徒的资金转移到在线赌场，并将赢利支付给顾客。

该犯罪集团使用名为 Trustpay 的内部计算机系统进行运作，集团成员通过该系统跟踪赌博客户的资金流向集团账户的情况。

Tan 将通过 Trustpay 门户网站收到有关存入该犯罪集团银行账户的提醒，这些账户均位于新加坡，且注册人为 Tan 不认识的人。

Tan 需要通过登录账户来确认存款，他可以使用银行的网上门户网站和当天分配给他的手机。

每部手机都预装了网上银行移动应用程序和 SIM 卡，背面贴有标签，标明了相应银行账户的账户名称、账号和登录凭证。

Tan会截取付款的屏幕截图，并通过Telegram群聊将其报告给犯罪团伙。

如果银行交易金额与 Trustpay 门户网站中的金额不符，Tan 会与在线赌场客服人员沟通，以解决差异。

除了赌博资金外，诈骗资金也通过该犯罪集团转移。

新加坡警察部队 (SPF) 收到有关该犯罪集团控制下的 17 个 Maribank 或 GXS 银行账户的诈骗报告。

账户中的损失金额从 150 新元到 2968 新元不等。

在 Tan 工作期间，17 个账户的总金额为 3,996,971 新元。

他始终知道该犯罪集团在马来西亚和新加坡从事的活动都是非法的。

新加坡警察部队 (SPF) 在 7 月份表示，由于马里班克 (MariBank) 提供的信息，该犯罪集团在 3 月份的“前沿行动+ III”中被捣毁。

这是新加坡警察部队与九个外国执法机构合作开展的为期两个月的打击跨国诈骗的联合行动。

谭某于7月20日被马来西亚皇家警察逮捕，并于次日移交给新加坡警察部队。

副检察官贾斯敏·考尔要求判处谭某八个月监禁，理由是这 17 个账户的资金流动量巨大。

陈的律师张祖基先生指出，只有大约 21,000 新元与诈骗有关。

他说他的客​​户“当然不知道”一些通过这些账户的资金与诈骗有关。

他因串谋非法访问计算机资料，可能被判处最高两年监禁，罚款最高 5000 新元，或两者并罚。

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