Malaysia couple working in Singapore lose $80k in PR application scam

A Malaysian couple's ambition to secure a better future for their children resulted in losses of over $80,000 when they fell victim to a scam that promised them permanent residency in Singapore.

The couple, originally from Johor Bahru, had been working in Singapore for several years and told Shin Min Daily News they wanted to obtain Permanent Resident (PR) status.

Tan, the 28-year-old-wife, said that she had come across a Facebook listing that claimed to help with Singapore PR applications last April.

The advertisement used phrases like "career planning" and "stable path", which drew Tan's attention and caused her to contact the advertiser.

Tan and her husband were initially asked to provide their work permits and identification cards to verify their eligibility for the application.

After receiving confirmation, they were given an "Application Process and Fee List", which required them to pay an application fee of $100, a deposit of $200, and a "document verification fee" of $1,200 each.

The couple subsequently received a letter believed to be from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), claiming that their application had been approved and that they were required to go for an interview at the ICA building the following week.

On the day of the scheduled interview, the couple were contacted by the advertisers and told that the information they provided was insufficient and that they could not could not go through with the interview.

"They asked us each to pay $3,000 to invest in a local company and $5,140 to enrol in a language centre to increase our success rate," Tan told Shin Min.

The advertisers also asked for a "confidentiality deposit" of $2,000 per person, she added.

The couple drained all their savings to pay the fees, but were later told that they would need to make donations of $2,700 for six months under the guise of "enhancing social contributions".

Additionally, the advertiser would send them a receipt after each payment, complete with a company name and address.

"It was our first time applying, and the documents looked so authentic so we weren't suspicious at all," she told Shin Min.

The advertiser eventually informed the couple that their application had been approved at the end of last year, but that they would need to make a payment of $12,500 if they wanted a Re-Entry Permit.

"He said this was the last step, and that if we didn't have enough money, we couldn't get the letter. We had no choice but to do as he said," Tan said.

"We should've known something was wrong when they asked us to hand over cash in person," she said, adding that a different person would collect the cash each time.

Additionally, the couple were never asked to attend any language classes despite making payments for enrolment. 

Tan also told Shin Min that the advertisers would repeatedly pressure and even threaten to prevent her from staying in Singapore to work if she or her husband asked for a refund.

In total, the couple spent over $80,000 but never received their PR status.

After the couple made their supposed final payment of over $10,000, a new contact took over and demanded $9,800 from each of them, which eventually made them realise that they had been scammed.

The couple made a police report earlier this year, she said.

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dana.leong@asiaone.com