Jail for woman who was part of scheme to cheat victims through dating apps, rigged mahjong games

Published Oct 01, 2026, 04:58 PM

Updated Oct 01, 2026, 04:58 PM

A man and eight accomplices cheated victims of over $100,000 by rigging mahjong games after luring them via fake dating app profiles.

Olivia Chin Hui Zhen, the first convicted, was sentenced to 8 months' jail and fined $3,000 for her role in hosting and playing in the rigged games.

The group used detailed tactics, including fake identities and a reserve player, to ensure they would win.

SINGAPORE - Almost every player invited to mahjong games organised by nine people lost money.

That was because the three players they were pitted against in each game were all in cahoots with one another.

The games, some of which were held at SAFRA Toa Payoh, were rigged and the mastermind had posed as women on dating apps to lure players.

The victims of the ruse lost more than $100,000.

On Oct 1, one of the conspirators, Olivia Chin Hui Zhen, 31, was sentenced to eight months’ jail and fined $3,000. She was the first person to be dealt with.

The cases against the other eight are pending .

They are: Marcus Ang Yi Sheng, 27; Jason Chin Yi Sheng, 32; Kristy Tan Siew Boon, 39; Leong Ying Liat, 43; Penelope Kek Yong Ru, 46; Chloe Low Zhiyi, 23; Belinda Chee Yan Lin, 25; and Li Yongyi Joaquin, 27.

Chin pleaded guilty to a total of five charges, four for conspiracy to cheat, and one for unlawful gambling.

Another 32 charges were taken into consideration.

The court heard that Ang, the mastermind, devised the scheme in April 2024. He would allegedly lure victims by creating fake dating app profiles, and invite potential dates to play mahjong.

Ang purportedly directed one of his female co-conspirators to pose as the woman on the dating app profile and host the game.

The games took place at various locations, including at SAFRA Toa Payoh.

During the games, Ang would allegedly get three other co-conspirators to assume fake names and specified relationships. He would ask some of them to pretend they did not know each other, in case the victim declined to play.

Ang also decided on the rules and rates used to calculate the winnings for each session, and appoint another group member to be a reserve player.

This player would observe the victim’s style of play and communicate this to the other three players to reduce the chances of the victim winning.

Each of the three players had a specific role.

The first player had to prevent the victim from winning. The second player’s job was to form a winning hand as quickly as possible, or help the third player by discarding tiles he or she needed.

The third player had to form the biggest hand possible, to maximise how much the victim had to pay.

According to Ang’s estimations, this allowed them to win 99 per cent of the time. The co-conspirators were to hand over their winnings to Ang after each game, and they would get between $300 and $500 per session.

In total, the group arranged 28 games involving at least 28 victims between April and June 2024, but only proceeded with 19 games.

Chin was assigned to host the games, act as a player, or pretend to cover the victim’s losses, to find out if the victim would be agreeable to pay the rest.

She took part in 10 of the 19 games, and earned between $100 and $400 per game.

One of the games took place on June 1, 2024, where Chin posed as Low’s friend.

At the end of the game, the victim was told he had to pay $26,000, which he refused.

Acting on Ang’s instructions, Chin pretended to offer to help the victim pay $3,000 in cash, and asked if he could pay the remaining sum.

Low and Ang even followed the victim home to obtain the money but they failed .

Deputy Public Prosecutors Gladys Lim and Lee Wen Kym sought a sentence of 9½ months and a fine of $3,000 for Chin.

Chin’s lawyers, Johannes Hadi and Seraphine Loh from Eugene Thuraisingam Asia, sought four months’ jail and a fine of $1,000.

The lawyers argued that Chin had the lowest culpability, given that she joined the group late, and did not allow Ang to use her photos in the online dating profiles.

Chin had also made full restitution for the games she was involved in.

But Lim said Chin was not only a player, but acted as a host in several games, and pressured the victims to pay up by offering partial payment for them.

District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt said Chin was not a passive participant, and her culpability was reflected in the number of charges she faced.

Hadi asked for Chin’s jail term to be deferred by four weeks to settle her affairs.

The judge granted the request.

For conspiracy to cheat, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

For unlawful gambling, an offender can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to $10,000, or both.

发布于 2026 年 10 月 1 日下午 4:58

更新于2026年10月1日下午4:58

一名男子和八名同伙通过虚假的约会软件个人资料引诱受害者，然后操纵麻将比赛，诈骗受害者超过 10 万美元。

第一个被定罪的人 Olivia Chin Hui Zhen 因参与组织和参加作弊游戏而被判处 8 个月监禁并罚款 3000 美元。

该团伙使用了包括假身份和替补队员在内的周密战术，以确保获胜。

新加坡——由九个人组织的麻将牌局，几乎所有受邀参赛的选手都输了钱。

那是因为他们在每场比赛中遇到的三个对手都是彼此串通好的。

这些比赛有的在 SAFRA Toa Payoh 举行，都是人为操纵的，幕后主使在约会软件上冒充女性来引诱玩家。

骗局的受害者损失超过 10 万美元。

10月1日，其中一名同谋，31岁的陈慧珍（Olivia Chin Hui Zhen）被判处8个月监禁并处罚金3000美元。她是第一个被处理的人。

其余八人的案件仍在审理中。

他们是：Marcus Ang Yi Shen，27 岁；贾森·金宜生，32 岁；克里斯蒂·陈秀文，39 岁；梁英烈，43岁；佩内洛普·克勇如，46 岁； Chloe Low 志毅，23 岁； Belinda Chee Yan Lin，25 岁​​；和李永义华金，27岁。

Chin对总共五项指控认罪，其中四项是串谋作弊，一项是非法赌博。

另有 32 项指控被纳入考虑范围。

法庭获悉，主谋Ang于2024年4月策划了这起骗局。据称，他会创建虚假的约会应用程序个人资料来引诱受害者，并邀请潜在的约会对象打麻将。

据称，Ang 指示他的一名女性同谋假扮约会应用程序个人资料中的女性，并主持这场游戏。

比赛在多个地点举行，包括 SAFRA Toa Payoh。

据称，在游戏中，昂会找来另外三名同谋，让他们使用假名并编造特定的关系。为了防止受害者拒绝参与游戏，他还会要求其中一些人假装彼此不认识。

Ang 还决定了每场比赛的奖金计算规则和费率，并指定另一名组员作为替补队员。

该玩家会观察受害者的游戏风格，并将此信息传达给其他三名玩家，以降低受害者获胜的几率。

三名球员各司其职。

第一位玩家的任务是阻止受害者获胜。第二位玩家的任务是尽快组成一手好牌，或者通过打出第三位玩家需要的牌来帮助他/她。

第三名玩家必须组成尽可能大的牌型，以最大限度地增加受害者需要支付的金额。

据Ang估计，这种方法使他们的胜率高达99%。同谋者们每次游戏结束后都要把赢来的钱交给Ang，他们每局能拿到300到500美元。

该组织在 2024 年 4 月至 6 月期间共安排了 28 场游戏，涉及至少 28 名受害者，但最终只进行了 19 场游戏。

Chin被安排主持游戏、扮演玩家或假装替受害者承担损失，以试探受害者是否愿意支付剩余的损失。

她参加了 19 场比赛中的 10 场，每场比赛的收入在 100 美元到 400 美元之间。

其中一场游戏于 2024 年 6 月 1 日举行，Chin 假扮成 Low 的朋友。

游戏结束后，受害者被告知他必须支付 26,000 美元，但他拒绝了。

按照Ang的指示，Chin假装要帮助受害者支付3000美元现金，并询问他是否可以支付剩余的款项。

Low 和 Ang 甚至跟踪受害者回家以获取钱财，但他们失败了。

副检察官林嘉欣和李文金要求判处陈某 9 个半月监禁和 3000 美元罚款。

Chin的律师，来自Eugene Thuraisingam Asia的Johannes Hadi和Seraphine Loh，请求判处四个月监禁和1000美元罚款。

律师辩称，鉴于 Chin 加入该团体较晚，且不允许 Ang 在在线约会资料中使用她的照片，因此 Chin 的罪责最低。

Chin也已就她参与的比赛做出了全额赔偿。

但林表示，陈不仅是玩家，还在多场游戏中担任东道主，并通过提供部分赔偿的方式向受害者施压，迫使他们支付赎金。

地方法官蔡元发表示，陈女士并非被动参与者，她所面临的指控数量反映了她的罪责。

哈迪请求将秦的刑期推迟四周执行，以便她处理好自己的事务。

法官批准了该请求。

串谋诈骗罪最高可判处 10 年监禁并处罚金。

对于非法赌博，违法者可被判处最高六个月监禁，最高罚款 10,000 美元，或两者并罚。