4 men charged after attempt to use stranger’s home as collateral for $6m loan

Four men were charged in a cheating case that saw two of them allegedly trying to obtain more than $6 million in mortgage loans by using a landed property belonging to a stranger as collateral.

The Straits Times reported on the elaborate ruse in May.

It involved forged documents, stolen identity and a caveat that was somehow lodged against a property linked to the Singapore Land Authority without the owner’s knowledge.

Freelance violinist Elgar Kwek, 49, and his mother, the owners of the property in Katong, had no plans to sell the home.

His partner suspected something was amiss when strangers turned up at the home in April for what looked like a pre-sale inspection.

The property owners have no links to the four charged on Nov 10.

Ernest Fan Zhenhao, 39, is facing six charges in total, comprising two counts of cheating, three counts of using a forged electronic record as genuine and one count of possessing a forged identity card.

Lazarus Ching Fei Fan, 27, is facing two cheating charges, while Terence Tan Jun Ming, 29, was handed one cheating charge.

Andrew Li Xianneng, 36, has been charged with abetting the unlawful issue of an identity card.

Caveat lodged

Kwek alerted the police in April after receiving a letter from the Singapore Land Authority and finding that a caveat had been lodged against his property.

A caveat is a legal document obtained by someone who wants to exercise an option to buy a property.

Kwek, who contacted ST soon after reporting the case to the police, said he did not authorise the caveat.

A police investigation showed that Fan allegedly impersonated Kwek and used forged identity documents to facilitate the loan applications.

According to court documents, he is said to have conspired with one Cozen Nova Khor to use a forged Singpass page on three occasions in 2025.

Fan and Ching also worked with Khor to allegedly try to dupe two companies – VM Capital and Comfort Credit – into granting over $6 million in total in mortgage loans that same year.

Court documents did not disclose details about Khor, who was not charged on Nov 10.

Tan is accused of conspiring with Khor to try to cheat VM Capital of $3.3 million in the same ruse.

The court heard that when the companies later sent over letters of offer, Fan allegedly posed as Kwek to sign them.

He is said to have a forged identity card, purportedly belonging to Kwek, in March 2026.

The ruse involved the accused taking advantage of Kwek’s work as a violinist and his side business, which sees him renting out his property for video and photography shoots.

Kwek’s home is filled with antiques he collected over 15 years that reflect a bygone era in Singapore.

In February and March, Ching allegedly contacted Kwek to engage him for violin performances.

While the home owner was away, Tan purportedly arranged access to the property for valuers to conduct valuations without Kwek’s knowledge.

Tan is also said to have facilitated the handover of a title deed between two law firms.

Forged NRIC

Li is said to have assisted in forging an identity card that was used to facilitate the ruse.

Court documents showed that he allegedly conspired with Khor and one Joydep to unlawfully issue an identity card in February.

Li is also accused of directing Joydep to issue an identity card purportedly belonging to Kwek between February and April.

Officers from Bedok Police Division arrested all four Singaporean men during a two-day operation in April. The authorities also seized a forged identity document and mobile phones.

Tan’s pre-trial conference takes place on Nov 19, and the cases involving the three other men have been adjourned to December.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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