Beware: Singapore Rental scam racket busted

POLICE have crippled a rental scam syndicate and arrested three men and a woman believed to be connected to more than 20 cases of cheating over the rental of flats.

This follow reports to police by people who were unable to move into residential flats after paying deposits, rental fees and agent commissions between June last year and July this year.

The amounts, ranging from $900 to $1,500, were paid to the supposed home owners and property agent who advertised for the rental of two flats located at Block 115 Jalan Bukit Merah and Block 7 North Bridge Road. The home owners and the property agent could not be reached after the payments were made.

Following investigations by Central Police Division, the owner of the Jalan Bukit Merah unit was arrested in connection to the case. He was found to be working with a bogus property agent to commit cheating in a bid to obtain quick cash. Police were able to establish that money from both units was paid into a common bank account.

In a police operation lasting 20-hours on Friday, police officers arrested a 48-year-old woman at about 12am. She had a bundle of blank tenancy agreements. About 14 hours later, officers nabbed a 56-year-old man who had posed as the owner of the North Bridge Road unit.

On Friday at about 8.15pm, police officers arrested the last remaining suspect, a 45-year-old bogus property agent known to his victims as 'Raymond'. He was later found to be wanted by the police for other separate offences of robbery and serious hurt.

source: StraitsTimes