Putting in fake bulk orders risks running afoul of the law, say lawyers

The recent spate of businesses getting bulk orders that were not paid for and were left uncollected may appear to be pranks, but lawyers said the people responsible can be hauled up for cheating.

In just over a week, there have been at least six reported cases of fake bulk orders across the island, leaving businesses scrambling and costing them thousands of dollars after the people who put in the orders, often claiming to be from legitimate organisations, left them in the lurch.

Most recently, a man claiming to be from the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School attempted to book a restaurant on Sept 10 for three days, from 3pm to 6pm.

At times, the “clients” would ask business owners to help them purchase other items – ranging from ready-to-eat meals to mattresses – and promise to pay the total sum at one go.

The police, in a statement late on Sept 16, said two men and a woman, aged between 16 and 31, were arrested for their suspected involvement in what appears to be a scam using fake orders as a ruse.

It is still unclear what the motive behind the bulk orders is but lawyers The Straits Times spoke to said such actions can constitute cheating, which is an offence under the law.

Kalco Law legal associate Andrew Ho said inducing business owners to prepare large orders under false pretences means the culprits can be charged with cheating, which carries a jail term of up to three years or a fine, or both.

He added that affected business owners can lodge a police report immediately, and if the culprits are prosecuted and found liable, the courts can order them to make compensation.

Alternatively, they can consider taking civil action or going to the Small Claims Tribunal, but these are less practical means of seeking recourse, unless the culprits are known and have assets.

Mr Jeremy Pereira, a criminal lawyer at Withers KhattarWong, said that if the people who put in the fake orders are found to have pretended to be representatives of organisations, they can be found guilty of something known as “cheating by personation”.

That crime carries a jail term of up to five years, a fine, or both.

Most of the fake bulk orders reported in the news involve people claiming to be Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) servicemen from Bedok Camp.

The Ministry of Defence said in a Facebook post on Sept 14 that it is aware of seven such cases and has not found any evidence that those who are responsible are affiliated with the SAF.

If the culprits are found to be uniformed personnel, the penalties can be different, said Mr Pereira. He said: “Usually, there doesn’t tend to be double counting of charges.

“If the offender is also subject to military law, then Mindef could take action instead. In such cases, the servicemen could face prosecution in the military courts rather than the criminal courts.”

If the case lands in military court, the servicemen are likely to be charged under the SAF Act for disgraceful conduct or behaving in a manner unbecoming of a member of the SAF, which carries a maximum of two years in the detention barracks.

Red flags

The Straits Times carried out its own checks and obtained three of the mobile phone numbers linked to putting in the bulk orders.

One number, which allegedly belonged to a serviceman in the Bedok Camp logistics team, no longer had a WhatsApp account as at Sept 16.

But the account was still active the previous day, with the profile picture showing a man garbed in an army uniform with a blue beret. Blue berets are worn by servicemen deployed in combat support and combat service support units, which include logistics.

But on closer inspection of the profile photo, there were some inconsistencies. For instance, the berets of servicemen from Bedok Camp have a red backing placed behind the cap badge, which indicates that they serve with the elite Guards formation.

The profile picture in this case did not include such a backing. The man in the photo also did not have a vocation badge on his right collar, nor did he appear to have a rank.

Servicemen usually wear a badge on the right collar of their uniforms to indicate their specific vocations. In this case, the serviceman’s uniform should have had a logistics badge sewn on.

The person who placed the order also claimed that his “men” would collect it, which would suggest that he was a commander and had a rank.

The number in question was allegedly the one that had placed a bulk order with home-based business Kiki Florist for 150 small bouquets and four extra-large bouquets, amounting to a total of $3,820.

A second number was traced to one “Luke Wong”, who had placed an order with Sedap! eatery in Novena on Sept 8 for 150 packets of nasi lemak and 150 bottles of mineral water worth about $1,600 after a discount. The display photo for the number also showed a man in an SAF uniform.

Again, this profile photo threw up missing or odd details. Although the profile picture did not indicate if he was from Bedok Camp, the name tag on his uniform bore the surname Tan, instead of Wong.

The photo showed that he had the rank of third sergeant but lacked the distinctive Combat Skills badge – usually attained by those in the infantry vocation during cadet training. After passing out from cadet school, infantry cadets can be posted to a Guards unit.

The WhatsApp account was still active as at Sept 16, but attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.

A Telegram account that had the same phone number also showed that the account had been frozen by the messaging platform.

The messaging platform’s rules spell out that an account can be frozen for flouting terms and conditions, including for spamming, committing scams, or suspicious automated activity, among other things.

Attempts to make voice calls to the two numbers were also unsuccessful – automated messages said the numbers were not in use.

The third number, linked to a “Gordon”, was used to order 150 pastries worth $1,500 from Yi Jia Bakery in Upper Thomson Road on Sept 11. The urgent order was due to be picked up the next day at 6pm.

Also, someone claiming to be Gordon’s colleague attempted to get the business owner to contact a supplier of ready-to-eat meals.

Two hours before the scheduled pickup time, the messages were deleted.

Checks found that the profile picture of Gordon’s WhatsApp account showed two men, one of whom wore a khaki beret, indicating that he was from the Guards formation.

The picture appeared to be taken at a passing-out parade, which recruits go through after completing their basic military training.

There was no other discernible information, and the phone number was not registered on Telegram. Attempts to call the number numerous times over three hours were met by a busy line message.

Checks indicated that none of the profile pictures had been generated or doctored with artificial intelligence.

In response to queries, the police said they are investigating.

With the phone numbers in each case being different, it is unclear if these bulk orders were put in by an individual or several people, acting either independently or as a group.

The lack of information that could identify them also suggests that the numbers were taken to use in burner phones – and discarded quickly – which makes it harder to determine who the phone numbers actually belong to.

Usually, cheap phones are used as burners, ready to be disposed of at a moment’s notice, but nowadays, criminals have been known to pay people to register SIM cards in their names before handing them over.

This way, they can facilitate illicit activities while bypassing identity verification checks, as the SIM cards are tied to someone else’s personal information.

Those found guilty of knowingly providing a fraudulently registered SIM card to another person to carry out a crime can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to three years, or both.

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

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