PUBLISHED ONJanuary 14, 2026 12:08 AMBYSean LerA 31-year-old Malaysian man will be charged in court on Wednesday (Jan 14) for his alleged involvement in several cases of government officials impersonation scam (GOIS).
The police said in a news release on Tuesday that they received a report involving the impersonation of a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) official.
Similar to a series of cases reported in November 2025, the victim was also told that her identity was misused and that she was being investigated for money laundering offences.
The female victim who filed the report was allegedly told over the phone, by an unknown person claiming to be from UnionPay, that she had to pay for an insurance policy which she had purchased.
When the woman denied having signed up for any insurance policy, the person told her that her identity may have been misused and that he would file a case with the police for her.
Shortly after, the victim received another call from a person claiming to be an MAS official.
She was then told that she was being investigated for money laundering and was required to surrender funds for the purposes of investigations.
Convinced that she was under investigation, the woman handed over an assortment of valuables, worth approximately $10,000, to an unknown person.
Officers from the police's Anti-Scam Command established the identity of the unknown person, a 31-year-old Malaysian man, through extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigation.
He was arrested when he tried to re-enter Singapore on Monday.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had collected the valuables from the victim before leaving Singapore. He then handed over the collected valuables to another unknown person in Malaysia.
Police said that the man is believed to be involved in other similar cases, and was facilitating the operations of the scam syndicate.
The 31-year-old will be charged in court with the offence of abetment by conspiracy to assist another to retain benefits from criminal conduct, according to the police.
If convicted, he may face a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine not exceeding $500,000 or both.
The police reminded members of the public never to transfer or hand over money or valuables to unknown individuals, or to anyone whose identity has not been verified.
Members of the public should also avoid placing money or valuables at any physical location to facilitate subsequent collection and to not share your device screens with unknown persons under any circumstances.
They also issued a stern reminder after observing an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from scam victims:
"The police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law," said the law enforcement agency.
In November 2025, seven Malaysians were arrested and charged over their alleged involvement in GOIS.
Parliament passed several amendments to Singapore's criminal law on November 4, 2025, including one that will see scammers subjected to mandatory caning.
Under the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, scammers and those who recruit or participate in scam syndicates face between six and 24 strokes of the cane.
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