Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
February 13, 2025
A man who knew that a Telegram user was involved in illegal online gambling activities helped the person source bank accounts that others unlawfully accessed later to transfer money.
Singaporean Koh Dong Sheng spoke to two women, asking them to share their bank account details in exchange for rewards.
The women agreed, and their bank accounts received more than $1.9 million in total – most of which was transferred out. The women did not perform such transactions, the court heard.
Koh, 37, was sentenced to six months’ jail on Feb 12 after he pleaded guilty to two counts of working with others to unlawfully access computer systems.
He was offered bail of $10,000 and is expected to begin serving his sentence on Feb 26.
The Telegram user known only as Noit, who is a Malaysian, asked Koh to source bank accounts.
On or around Feb 16, 2023, Koh passed Noit’s contact details to Jovena Tan, 20, who was promised an undisclosed “income”.
She opened a bank account, before passing the internet banking credentials and a card linked to it to an unknown person.
Apart from an initial deposit of 32 cents in the account on Feb 16, 2023, there was no other transaction that month.
In March 2023, there was a single deposit of $100, which was not performed by Tan. There was no withdrawal.
However, from April 1 to July 31 that year, nearly $1.67 million was deposited and some $1.66 million was transferred out.
The account was closed on Aug 3, 2023.
Separately, Koh gave Cindy Kong, 37, Noit’s contact details in or around March 2023.
He told her that for each bank account she provided, she could receive $300 per month.
On March 15 that year, Kong withdrew all the money in her bank account and told Koh that the account was ready.
According to court documents, she handed to an unknown person the internet banking details and a card linked to the account.
Between March 31 and April 29, 2023, more than $251,000 was deposited and around $250,000 was transferred out.
For both cases involving Kong and Tan, court documents did not disclose the sources of the money and where it went to.