Day: June 29, 2022

The Third Session of the Thai-Hungarian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation was held on 29 June 2022 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand. The Thai delegation was led by H.E. Mr. Sarun Charoensuwan, Deputy Permanent Secretary and Co-Chair of the Thai side, and the Hungarian delegation was led by H.E. Mr. András Baranyi, Deputy State Secretary for Development of Eastern Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary and Co-Chair of the Hungarian side.

Both Sides discussed and exchanged views on the status of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, investment promotion, and technical and sectoral cooperation which includes the topic of environment and water resources management, agriculture and food industry, energy, science and technology, education, culture, sports, health and health industry and tourism.

In this regard, the Thai side congratulated the Hungarian side for being selected by the International Federation of Muaythai Association (IFMA) to host Muaythai World Championship in 2023, which is the commemorative year of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Hungary.

The outcomes of the Third Session of the Thai-Hungarian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation reflect the warm and cordial relations between Thailand and Hungary, and desire of both sides to further strengthen and intensify their commercial and economic relations as well as technical cooperation in various areas for the mutual benefits of the two countries.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand

The Police would like to remind members of the public to remain vigilant against China Officials Impersonation Scams. Since January 2022, there have been at least 277 victims, with losses amounting to at least $30.3 million.

Victims would receive voice-recorded phone calls allegedly from the Ministry of Health, the High Court or other government agencies. When the victims followed the instructions on the call to make further contact, the call would be directed to scammers claiming to be a police officer. The scammers would inform the victims that they were being investigated for money laundering and other offences. The scammers would direct the victims to do any of the following:

Provide their personal information and bank account information

Open bank accounts

Transfer money from their bank accounts to other bank accounts ostensibly for the purposes of Police investigations

Report their movements daily

Meet unknown subjects to hand over or collect fake documents from them

Keep the investigations secret

Victims would only discover that they had been scammed when they realised that there were unauthorised transactions made from their bank accounts, or when the scammers did not return the money they had transferred for the purported “Police investigations”.

The Police would like to emphasise that overseas law enforcement agencies have no jurisdiction to conduct operations in Singapore, arrest anyone or ask members of the public to help with any form of investigations. The Police will never ask you to transfer money into another bank account for the purpose of investigations.

The Police would also like to advise members of the public to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls claiming to be overseas law enforcement agencies:

Beware of calls with the “+” prefix which originate from overseas;

Ignore such calls and the caller’s instructions;

Never share your Singpass and bank account login details and one-time password (OTP) with anyone, including family and friends. No government agency will instruct payment through undocumented media like a telephone call or other social messaging platforms, or ask you for personal banking information such as your Internet banking passwords;

When in doubt, always verify the authenticity of the information with the official website or sources;

Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. You may be overwhelmed by emotion and may err in your judgment. Do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively; and

Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.

If you have any information related to such crimes, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Join the ‘Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes’ campaign at www.scamalert.sg/fight by signing up as an advocate to receive up-to-date messages and share them with your family and friends. Together, we can help stop scams and prevent our loved ones from becoming the next victim.

Source: Singapore Police Force

The Police will be charging two men, a 28-year-old man for his suspected involvement in attempted cheating by personation and another 51-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a conspiracy to commit cheating by personation.

On 28 June 2022, the Police received a report on persons cheating during a test. The 28-year-man had allegedly impersonated the 51-year-old man to take the Computerised Theory Driving Test at the Singapore Safety Driving Centre located at 2 Woodlands Industrial Park E4.

Through extensive follow up investigations, officers from Woodlands Police Division arrested the two men on the same day at the said location. Investigations revealed that they had conspired to cheat as one of them had impersonated the other by presenting the other man’s work permit to take the Computerised Theory Test.

The two men will be charged on 30 June 2022. The offence of attempted cheating by personation and the offence of cheating by personation each carries an imprisonment term of up to five years, a fine, or both.

Members of the public are advised not to impersonate other persons. The Police take a serious view of persons who may be involved in such fraudulent activities, and will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Source: Singapore Police Force

The Police are appealing for the next-of-kin of Mr Ho Kong Chang to come forward.

Mr Ho, a former resident at Block 840 Yishun Street 81, had passed away on 26 June 2022.

Anyone with information is requested to call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Source: Singapore Police Force

The Police are investigating 193 men and 53 women, aged between 15 and 84, for various offences, following a week-long multi-agency enforcement operation conducted between 19 and 24 June 2022.

The operation was led by Jurong Police Division and supported by officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Singapore Customs, and covered various locations in Jurong West, Tuas, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Panjang and Bukit Batok.

As part of the operation, a total of 38 men and six women, aged between 19 and 63, are being investigated for their suspected involvement in various offences, such as drug-related offences and traffic-related offences.

As part of enforcement efforts against illegal bookmaking and gambling activities in Jurong West, 22 men and eight women, aged between 29 and 81, are being investigated for suspected offences under the Betting Act 1960, Remote Gambling Act 2014 and Common Gaming Houses Act 1961. Cash amounting to more than $9,000, betting and gambling-related paraphernalia were seized during the operation.

Two women, aged 36 and 52, were also arrested for their suspected involvement in vice-related activities at a HDB unit in Choa Chu Kang. They are being investigated for offences under the Women’s Charter 1961. Condoms and lubricants were seized during the operation.

In an enforcement operation against massage establishments in Bukit Panjang, Bukit Batok and Jurong West, one man and two women, aged between 47 and 60, are being investigated for breaches under the Massage Establishments Act 2017.

In another enforcement operation against public entertainment outlets in Jurong West, three men, aged between 52 and 84, are being investigated for breaches under the Public Entertainments Act 1958.

Another 31 men and seven women, aged between 15 and 70, are being investigated for allegedly assisting in loansharking activities and loan scams.

Another 57 men and 28 women, aged between 17 and 73, are also being investigated for their suspected involvement in e-commerce scams and commercial crimes. They are believed to be involved in 172 such cases reported island-wide, involving a sum of $680,000.

In two joint operations with the ICA and Singapore Customs in Bukit Panjang, Bukit Batok and Tuas, 41 men, aged between 20 and 46 are being investigated for alleged offences under the Customs Act 1960, Immigration Act 1959 and Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993. Cash amounting to more than $700, as well as 38 packets and 213 sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes, were seized during the operation.

Investigations against all individuals are ongoing.

Commander of Jurong Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police Shee Tek Tze, said, “This joint operation led by Jurong Police Division is part of our ongoing efforts to keep our community safe. The Police will continue to work with other law enforcement agencies to take tough enforcement action against those involved in criminal activities.”

Source: Singapore Police Force