A 30-year-old Malaysian man has been sentenced to more than 16 months in jail in Singapore after joining a Cambodian scam syndicate, despite failing to scam a single victim before being dismissed by the criminal organisation.
According to court proceedings reported by CNA, Yip Chee Min was introduced to the scam operation by a friend known only as “Jason”, whom he met at a bar in Kuala Lumpur in October 2024.
Jason told Yip about a lucrative job opportunity at a scam call centre in Cambodia, claiming workers could earn around US$10,000 (about RM40,000) a month with all travel expenses covered by the syndicate.
After both men were added to a Telegram group managed by the syndicate, they travelled to Cambodia to inspect the operation. During the visit, Yip reportedly saw 32 scam operators working inside a soundproof room before deciding to join the organisation.
Yip returned to Cambodia on Nov 21, 2024, only to discover that his promised salary had been reduced to US$1,800 (about RM7,300) per month, along with a one per cent commission on money obtained from scam victims, payable in cryptocurrency.
He was assigned to impersonate a bank officer targeting victims in Singapore and was given an iPhone 6, a prepared script and a list of 30 potential victims.
Despite memorising the script, Yip failed to convince anyone during scam calls and did not successfully defraud a single victim during his three-day stint with the syndicate.
Frustrated by his lack of results, the syndicate dismissed him and sent him back to Malaysia. Before his departure, the syndicate leader confiscated Yip’s mobile phone and deleted messages relating to the operation.
In February 2025, Yip moved to Singapore and found work as a delivery driver, earning about S$2,300 (approximately RM7,200) a month before he was arrested on Sept 9.
During sentencing, Yip’s lawyer argued that his client had cooperated with investigators, was never paid by the syndicate and had failed to scam anyone, requesting a prison sentence of 13.8 months.
However, the judge rejected the argument, ruling that Yip had voluntarily joined the criminal syndicate for financial gain and that his failure to scam victims did not reduce his culpability.
The court noted that Yip was removed from the syndicate because he was incapable of carrying out scam calls effectively, not because he had chosen to leave out of remorse.
Yip later pleaded guilty to one charge under Singapore’s Organised Crime Act, while another cheating-related charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.
He was sentenced to 16 months and two weeks’ imprisonment.
