Jail for ex-property agent who scammed own family while on the run for cheating clients
Photo illustration of a gavel. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: To ease his financial troubles, a former property agent cheated his clients and fled to Malaysia, only to scam his own family by claiming he had been kidnapped.
For his crimes, Joe Tan Kia Hian, 41, was sentenced to jail for one year and 11 months on Thursday (Feb 28).
Tan swindled his victims of more than S$88,000 in total, even scamming his wife and sister into "paying ransom" to a money-lending syndicate in Malaysia.
However, he had not been kidnapped but was actually on the run in Malaysia. He had gambled away almost all his money in Genting Highlands, and owed the syndicate RM60,000 (S$20,000).
After his wife reported the "kidnap" to the police, he was arrested by Malaysian police and taken back to Singapore.
TAN BEGAN BY CHEATING HIS CLIENTS, THEIR TENANTS
The court heard that Tan was a property agent with Huttons Asia at the time of the offences, which began in February 2017 and ended in March 2018.
In February 2017, Tan formed a plan to cheat a landlord of an apartment in Guillemard and two of her tenants.
He was the agent for the landlord's property, and prepared separate tenancy agreements for the home. He gave the agreement with a higher rent and security deposit to the tenants.
He pocketed the difference and even asked the tenant to transfer rent to his own bank account, claiming that the landlord had asked for it.
Tan cheated other tenants and landlords in similar fashion, and three different people lodged police reports against him in March 2018.
However, Tan told his sister that he "did not want to become a convict and go to jail", Deputy Public Prosecutor Ho Lian-Yi said.
He said he wanted to start afresh elsewhere in the world, and asked his family to help him as he had only "a small window to leave".
His sister told him that his family could not abet him to evade the law, asking him to call a social service instead and address the root of his issues: Gambling addiction and money management.
She also asked Tan to think about their cancer-stricken father. However, Tan paid his sister no heed, leaving Singapore the next day on a bus to Genting Highlands to gamble.
TAN LOSES MONEY GAMBLING IN GENTING, BORROWS MORE
A day later, he had lost all his money except for S$1,000 in one of his bank accounts, the court heard.
He then borrowed RM30,000 from a Malaysian money-lending syndicate to continue gambling, on the condition that he had to repay double the amount if his losses crossed a certain figure.
Accepting this condition, Tan took the money and handed over his passport and NRIC to a syndicate member, but lost all his chips in five hours.
As he needed to repay RM60,000 to the syndicate the next day as agreed, Tan texted his wife and father that he had been taken hostage and that those holding him wanted RM100,000.
He lied to his wife that his abductors would kill him or chop his fingers off, and she transferred S$5,000 to a bank account he specified on Mar 15.
That same day, Tan contacted his sister with the same lie that he had been kidnapped, and she also transferred money to the same account.
He told them that the abductors were part of a syndicate that was supposed to get him illegal documents to stay in Malaysia.
Runners from the money-lending syndicate helped Tan convince his family by sending text messages to his sister saying they would harm Tan.
In total, Tan's family members transferred S$26,000, which was actually provided by Tan's father, who was battling bladder cancer.
The syndicate released Tan after receiving the money, and he went back to the casino on Mar 17.
There, he was arrested by Malaysian police, who had been alerted by their Singaporean counterparts about the case after Tan's wife made a police report about the purported hostage situation.
Tan pleaded guilty on Thursday to nine charges of cheating and forgery, with another 18 charges taken into consideration.
The prosecution asked for a jail sentence of two years and one month to be imposed, noting that Tan had made no restitution and that there were two separate groups of victims in this case - his clients and his own family.
The many charges Tan faced took place over at least a year, said the prosecutor, and he committed the offences on his family while he was on the run.
S$300,000 DEBT AFTER CHINA INVESTMENTS TURNED SOUR: DEFENCE
Defence lawyer Vikram Ranjan asked for leniency and no more than 14 months' jail, saying that his client had been a successful property agent until investments he made in China around 2016 "turned sour".
He lost his savings and racked up debt of about S$300,000, said Mr Ranjan. Tan cheated the tenants out of "sheer desperation", he said, and admitted early on to what he had done.
While in remand, Tan has shown remorse, said his defence counsel, writing on many occasions to seek forgiveness from his wife and family.
He intends to return to the family business of distributing herbs, said Mr Ranjan, and has a desire to change for the better.
District Judge Ong Luan Tze told Tan that he must appreciate the effort his defence lawyer made on his behalf.
However, she said that Tan's conduct as a property agent, a son, a husband and brother was "nothing short of appalling".
"That you did it because of your financial troubles is not a mitigating factor," said the judge. "I hope for the sake of your family that your remorse is genuine."
