Man who devised scheme to cheat dates in rigged mahjong games gets jail

The 27-year-old posed as women on dating platforms and invited prospective dates to play mahjong games secretly rigged by his accomplices.

After meeting a "woman" on a dating application, the victim would be invited to a mahjong game that was rigged. (File photo: iStock)

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SINGAPORE: A man who devised a scheme to lure men on dating platforms into losing money in rigged mahjong games was sentenced to jail on Thursday (Nov 5).

Marcus Ang Yi Sheng, a 27-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to two years' jail and fined S$15,000 (US$11,751).

He pleaded guilty to eight charges, including multiple counts of conspiring to cheat, as well as criminal intimidation and charges related to gambling.

Another 33 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Ang estimated that the group earned about S$100,000 across multiple games.

Ang devised the conspiracy around April 2024. He created dating profiles of fictional women on dating platforms like OkCupid and Tinder with accompanying Telegram usernames.

Prospective dates would contact Ang through the Telegram usernames, and he would pose as the fictional women before inviting them to play mahjong.

Once a game was scheduled, Ang would direct a female co-conspirator to pose as the woman in the dating profile and host the session.

The games were held at locations including a Housing Board flat and SAFRA Toa Payoh.

Each game involved a victim and three co-conspirators seated at the mahjong table, with the accomplices assigned specific roles.

Some of them acted as friends or siblings to each other, while others posed as strangers.

A co-conspirator acting as a reserve player would observe the victim's style of play and relay the information to other players to reduce the chances of the victim winning.

The players were assigned tasks such as preventing the victim from winning, forming winning hands or throwing tiles needed by their accomplices.

According to Ang, this scheme allowed the conspirators to win 99 per cent of the time.

Ang set up a WhatsApp chat group called "Sales appointment updates" to disseminate information among the accomplices.

He also conducted training sessions to teach the rest how to play in each designated position.

Winnings were pooled and handed to Ang, who would then distribute "commissions" to the co-conspirators.

The co-conspirators each earned a commission of between S$300 and S$500 for each mahjong session.

There were at least 28 victims in 28 games in 2024.

Ang was assigned to be a player in 18 games, of which 12 eventually took place and in which he participated.

One victim was told he had to pay S$26,000 after losing a game on Jun 1, 2024, but refused.

Another victim was also pressured to pay S$26,000 after losing a game. Ang threatened to visit this victim's workplace and report him to the police for allegedly raping an accomplice.

The victim later filed a police report.

Ang was arrested in June 2024 and released on bail, but reoffended and was remanded.

He was later offered bail but reoffended a second time and was remanded again.

The prosecution sought 25 to 27 months' jail with a fine of S$15,000 for Ang.

Ang's lawyer, Mr John Koh from Avalon Law, sought 19 to 21 months' jail with a fine of S$15,000.

Ang's accomplice, host and player Olivia Chin Hui Zhen, was sentenced to eight months' jail and fined S$3,000 last month. She was the first member of the group to plead guilty.

The cases involving the remaining accomplices are pending.

For each charge of conspiring to cheat, Ang could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

For unlawful gambling, he could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

For organising unlawful gambling, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to S$500,000.

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这名 27 岁的男子在约会平台上冒充女性，邀请潜在的约会对象玩麻将游戏，而这些游戏实际上是由他的同伙暗中作弊的。

受害者在约会软件上认识了一位“女性”后，会被邀请参加一场事先被操纵的麻将牌局。（图片来源：iStock）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：一名男子设计了一个骗局，诱骗约会平台上的男性在作弊的麻将游戏中输钱，于周四（11月5日）被判入狱。

27岁的新加坡人Marcus Ang Yi Sheng被判处两年监禁，并被罚款15000新加坡元（11751美元）。

他承认了八项指控，包括多项串谋作弊罪、刑事恐吓罪以及与赌博有关的指控。

量刑时还考虑了另外 33 项指控。

Ang估计该团队在多场比赛中赚取了约10万新元。

Ang 于 2024 年 4 月左右策划了这场阴谋。他在 OkCupid 和 Tinder 等约会平台上创建了虚构女性的约会资料，并配上了相应的 Telegram 用户名。

潜在的约会对象会通过 Telegram 用户名联系 Ang，他会假扮成虚构的女性，然后邀请她们一起打麻将。

一旦游戏安排妥当，Ang 就会指示一名女性同谋假扮约会资料中的女性，并主持游戏。

比赛在包括组屋和 SAFRA 大巴窑在内的多个地点举行。

每局游戏都包含一名受害者和三名同谋，他们坐在麻将桌旁，同谋们被分配了特定的角色。

他们当中有些人扮演朋友或兄弟姐妹的角色，而另一些人则扮演陌生人。

同谋者作为替补队员，会观察受害者的打法，并将信息传递给其他队员，以降低受害者获胜的几率。

玩家们被分配了诸如阻止受害者获胜、组成获胜牌型或扔出同伙需要的牌之类的任务。

据Ang称，这种策略使阴谋者有99%的概率获胜。

Ang 创建了一个名为“销售预约更新”的 WhatsApp 聊天群组，以便在同伙之间传播信息。

他还组织训练课程，教其他队员如何在各自的指定位置上踢球。

所得款项集中起来交给Ang，然后Ang再将“佣金”分配给同谋者。

每名共谋者每人每局麻将可获得 300 至 500 新元的佣金。

2024 年的 28 场比赛中至少有 28 名受害者。

Ang 被指派参加 18 场比赛，其中 12 场比赛最终举行，他也参加了这些比赛。

一名受害者被告知，他在 2024 年 6 月 1 日输掉一场比赛后必须支付 26,000 新元，但他拒绝了。

另一名受害者在输掉游戏后也被勒令支付26000新元。Ang威胁要到这名受害者的工作场所报警，指控他强奸了一名同伙。

受害者随后向警方报案。

Ang 于 2024 年 6 月被捕，获准保释，但再次犯罪，被还押候审。

他后来获得保释，但再次犯罪，又被还押候审。

检方要求判处Ang 25至27个月监禁，并处罚金15000新元。

Ang 的律师，来自 Avalon Law 的 John Koh 先生，请求判处 19 至 21 个月监禁，并处罚金 15,000 新元。

Ang的同伙，主持人兼选手Olivia Chin Hui Zhen，上个月被判处8个月监禁并罚款3000新元。她是该团伙中第一个认罪的成员。

其余同案犯的案件仍在审理中。

对于每一项串谋诈骗的指控，Ang 最高可被判处 10 年监禁并处罚款。

他因非法赌博可能被判处最高六个月监禁，最高罚款 10,000 新元，或两者并罚。

组织非法赌博者，最高可判处七年监禁，并处罚款高达50万新元。

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