PUBLISHED ONMarch 20, 2026 12:05 AMBYSean LerAnother Malaysian, the sixth in two weeks, has been arrested in Singapore for his alleged involvement in government official impersonation scam.
Police said in a statement on Thursday (March 19) that they received a report from a female victim who received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from HSBC.
During the call, the unknown person informed her that there were unauthorised charges on a HSBC card registered under her name.
After the victim denied having a HSBC credit card, her call was transferred to individuals claiming to be from the Ministry of Law.
They told the woman that she was under investigation for money laundering and created a sense of urgency and fear.
She was then convinced to hand over gold bracelets and jewellery worth over $80,000, under the guide of "safekeeping" during so-called "investigations".
The Malaysian, 21, was identified and arrested on Thursday, following extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations by officers from the Anti-Scam Command.
He will be charged in court with the offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct on Friday.
If found guilty of the said offence, he may be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.
Police said they have observed an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from scam victims.
They reminded would-be perpetrators that any person who may be involved in scams will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Members of the public are also reminded that government officials will never ask anyone to transfer money over the phone, request bank login details, transfer a call to the police, or instruct anyone to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores.
If in doubt, they may also call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.
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