Police arrest man after multiple reports lodged over alleged rental flat scam in Jurong
The police have arrested a 34-year-old man accused of scamming victims after promising to rent out a flat in Jurong.
The police said on Monday that, since August 2022, they have received at least 28 reports of these flat rental scams in Yung Kuang Road. All the cases are believed to be linked to Alan Er Chun Yong.
Er had contacted victims who were interested in renting either bedrooms or a housing unit via different social media platforms.
Chinese-language paper Shin Min Daily News reported in May that Er had allegedly duped victims of more than $30,000 through scams involving a Housing Board flat at 166A Yung Kuang Road.
After receiving payments for the deposits, he would give different excuses to breach the agreements and eventually fail to refund the victims as promised, the police said.
Unhappy victims told Shin Min that some of them had bumped into one another while searching for answers outside the same unit.
The Chinese daily reported that the victims had transferred sums ranging from $2,300 to about $10,200 to the man as advance payment for moving into the flat.
The police said that officers from Jurong Police Division identified Er and arrested him on April 5.
Preliminary investigations revealed that he is also involved in another scam involving visa applications, they added.
Er will be charged on Tuesday with cheating.
If convicted of the offence, he faces imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine.
The police advised the public to take precautionary measures to avoid falling prey to rental scams.
Those looking to rent property should avoid making any advance payment until the tenancy is confirmed, and pay the rental deposit and rents by cheque or via bank transfer for documentary proof.
They should always visit the housing unit they intend to rent to confirm its existence, the unit’s condition and potential signs of multiple subletting.
They should also verify the identities of the people they are dealing with and their relationship to the housing unit, especially if the services engaged do not belong to a licensed estate agent or registered salesmen.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline on 1800-722-6688.
Those with information on such scams may call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness
The number of home rental scams via online platforms jumped fivefold in 2022 to 979 cases, from 192 cases in 2021.
Such scams, which were perpetuated on e-commerce and social media platforms, generally involved scammers impersonating property agents and listing home rentals on these platforms.
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