Chong Wei Hao, 42, was also fined S$895 (US$696) on April 2 after pleading guilty to being part of a criminal conspiracy to deceive Singapore residents through the devices, CNA reported.
Victims lost more than S$1.6 million (US$1.2 million) in under three weeks. The automated calls impersonated government agencies and financial institutions, with the heaviest losses coming from fake Monetary Authority of Singapore investigator scams.
Chong, a freelance electrician with about 15 years of experience, was recruited through Telegram in November 2024 while looking for extra income. A user named “Nasa” offered him a monthly salary of 3,000 ringgit (US$743) and an advance payment of about USDT 700, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar.
His task was to rent a flat in Singapore and install telecommunications equipment.
In March 2025, Chong rented a unit in Chai Chee for S$18,000 over six months. He told the landlord he managed a dim sum shop and that the flat would house female employees. He requested high-speed broadband of at least 1 gigabit per second and asked that bedrooms not face neighboring units.
Over four trips from Malaysia, he installed nine VoIP GSM Gateway devices across two bedrooms. The devices routed calls from overseas through Singapore’s cellular networks, making them appear local to recipients. He also set up two CCTV cameras to monitor the entrances.
The system was part of a sophisticated syndicate operation. Masterminds based outside Singapore would initiate calls pre-loaded with scam voice messages. The calls passed through a centralized SIM pool that selected SIM cards based on cost, network and location before connecting to Chong’s devices.
Because the devices sat on Singapore’s cellular network, victims saw local numbers on their screens. A single operator could manage a large number of outgoing lines simultaneously, the prosecution said.
Between April 4 and 16, 2025, a total of 131 unique phone numbers were traced to the flat, later linked to 75 police reports. Forensic analysis found the devices had transmitted over 50,000 call sessions in a single 50-minute burst, reaching around 18,000 numbers. Among the victims was a 79-year-old retiree who lost S$6,300.
On April 17, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department raided the unit, using a locksmith to get past a padlocked gate. They found the nine devices, the cameras, a modem and a router.
The next day, “Nasa” asked Chong to check on the equipment. He returned to Singapore but found the flat had been cleared. He reported this to the syndicate and left.
Chong was arrested in Johor Bahru on June 28, 2025, and handed over to Singapore police two days later, The Straits Times reported. He knew the devices were intended for scam calls and online gambling advertisements, and that the masterminds were possibly from Taiwan, court documents said.
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