Man jailed after joining Cambodia scam syndicate that fired him in 3 days for poor performance

SINGAPORE: A man who decided to join a scam syndicate abroad was fired after three days due to his poor performance.

Yip Chee Ming, 30, could not make any successful scam calls during his short stint at the scam syndicate compound in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the court heard on Friday (Jun 26), as it sentenced the Malaysian to 16 months and two weeks' jail.

Yip, who appeared in court via videolink, pleaded guilty to one count of being part of an organised crime group, with another count of cheating taken into consideration for sentencing.

He was part of the syndicate, based in Phnom Penh, between Nov 21 and Nov 23, 2024. 

Yip was among a group of 12 people charged in court over the scam offences in September last year.

At least one other person from the same group, De Villar Rizalyn Panganiban, is contesting the charges against her.

Aside from Yip, the Singapore Police Force has arrested 20 others in relation to the syndicate to date. As of May this year, Interpol red notices were issued for at least 31 other suspected members who remain at large.

HOW THE SYNDICATE OPERATED

The syndicate employed callers to cheat Singaporean victims through government official impersonation scams.  

The group operated with four tiers: Leaders who oversaw operations and paid commissions, supervisors who trained callers, callers who impersonated government officials to scam Singaporeans, and money launderers who obtained bank accounts from mules in Singapore and converted the scam proceeds into cryptocurrency.

The syndicate operated out of a rented villa and a nine-storey building, both guarded by security personnel. It provided callers with flights, transport, accommodation and catered meals, and helped them obtain Cambodian work permits.

Apart from training the callers, the syndicate provided them with attire and props, such as custom-made backdrops featuring the logos of Singapore Government agencies, to make the scam more convincing. 

HOW YIP CAME TO JOIN

Yip learned about the job opportunity to work in a scam centre in Cambodia in October 2024, through a person known as "Jason". 

Jason told Yip he was nervous about trying the job and asked if Yip was keen to join him. Yip agreed. 

Jason and Yip were then added to a Telegram group conversation, where they were told by a syndicate leader that they were to scam victims. They were offered the chance to have a look at the scam syndicate's premises, with expenses fully covered. 

On Oct 25, 2024, both men flew to Cambodia from Malaysia. They were then showed around the premises - which was then a five-storey bungalow - on Oct 29, 2024. Here, Yip saw callers making scam calls from makeshift soundproof foam boxes. 

Yip decided to join the syndicate and returned to Cambodia with Jason on Nov 21, 2024. By then, the syndicate was in the process of relocating, after receiving information that the police might soon raid its premises. Yip and Jason were driven to a different building.

He was to pose as a bank officer, deceive victims into believing there were unauthorised transactions in their bank accounts, then transfer them to another caller.

He accepted a basic salary of US$1,800 (S$2,300) a month, plus a 1 per cent commission on the amounts transferred by his victims. He was to be paid in cryptocurrency.

On Nov 22, 2024, Yip was briefed on the scam’s modus operandi and began learning from other callers. He was issued an iPhone 6 loaded with tools and a list of about 30 Singaporeans to target.

He then began memorising a script to deliver to victims but was unable to "deliver the lines confidently", court documents stated. He failed to make any successful calls on Nov 22.

The next day, he again failed at the job and was told that the syndicate no longer wanted his services. The syndicate leader took Yip's personal mobile phone and deleted all messages relating to working for the syndicate. Yip then left for Malaysia that night.

In February 2025, Yip started working in Singapore as a delivery driver, earning a salary of about S$2,300 per month. He was arrested on Sep 9, 2025. 

Yip's lawyer, Mr Choo Zheng Xi of RCLT Law Corporation, cited his client's cooperation with the authorities and his early guilty plea as mitigating factors and sought a sentence of 13.8 months' jail. 

"Mr Yip’s case is unique, because, as even the prosecution concedes, he did not make a single successful scam call as part of the scam syndicate," the defence stated in its submissions. 

Mr Choo added that his client was a member of the syndicate for "an extraordinarily short period of time" and was not paid a single cent. 

Against this, the prosecution called for Yip to be jailed for at least 18 months. 

JUDGE'S DECISION

In sentencing Yip, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan noted that the government official impersonation scam syndicate had targeted Singaporeans and caused losses of at least S$52.5 million across 528 reported cases over about a year. Of that amount, S$11.8 million was from at least 90 elderly victims.

The judge noted that Yip had no position in the syndicate's hierarchy, caused no quantifiable loss, received no payment, and was a member for only a short period before being dismissed.

However, Judge Tan said Yip's culpability was not as low as the defence had suggested.

Yip knew that the syndicate targeted Singaporean victims and had agreed to a basic salary and commission. He was also issued a mobile phone installed with tools to help him commit the offences.

"His decision to join was deliberate and financially motivated. As the prosecution correctly submits, the accused was essentially fired because he could not confidently perform scam calls despite his best efforts, and had not left out of remorse," Judge Tan said. 

"Any mitigatory credit for his short membership ought to be significantly circumscribed."

However, Judge Tan acknowledged Yip’s cooperation with the authorities, including information he provided to identify syndicate members and his willingness to testify against his co-accused.

"The Organised Crime Act was enacted precisely to disrupt the kind of transnational syndicates that are the subject-matter of this case, and this court needs to impose a deterrent sentence to send a clear message to both those in Singapore and outside that they will be met with severe consequences should they decide to join syndicates that target our country, especially if they try to do it from abroad, thinking that they are outside the reach of our laws," Judge Tan said. 

For being part of an organised crime group, Yip could have been fined up to S$100,000, or jailed up to five years, or both.