The 27-year-old posed as women on dating platforms and invited prospective dates to play mahjong games secretly rigged by his accomplices.
After meeting a "woman" on a dating application, the victim would be invited to a mahjong game that was rigged. (File photo: iStock)
After meeting a "woman" on a dating application, the victim would be invited to a mahjong game that was rigged. (File photo: iStock)
SINGAPORE: A man who devised a scheme to lure men on dating platforms into losing money in rigged mahjong games was sentenced to jail on Thursday (Nov 5).
Marcus Ang Yi Sheng, a 27-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to two years' jail and fined S$15,000 (US$11,751).
He pleaded guilty to eight charges, including multiple counts of conspiring to cheat, as well as criminal intimidation and charges related to gambling.
Another 33 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Ang estimated that the group earned about S$100,000 across multiple games.
THE CASE
Ang devised the conspiracy around April 2024. He created dating profiles of fictional women on dating platforms like OkCupid and Tinder with accompanying Telegram usernames.
Prospective dates would contact Ang through the Telegram usernames, and he would pose as the fictional women before inviting them to play mahjong.
Once a game was scheduled, Ang would direct a female co-conspirator to pose as the woman in the dating profile and host the session.
The games were held at locations including a Housing Board flat and SAFRA Toa Payoh.
Each game involved a victim and three co-conspirators seated at the mahjong table, with the accomplices assigned specific roles.
Some of them acted as friends or siblings to each other, while others posed as strangers.
A co-conspirator acting as a reserve player would observe the victim's style of play and relay the information to other players to reduce the chances of the victim winning.
The players were assigned tasks such as preventing the victim from winning, forming winning hands or throwing tiles needed by their accomplices.
According to Ang, this scheme allowed the conspirators to win 99 per cent of the time.
Ang set up a WhatsApp chat group called "Sales appointment updates" to disseminate information among the accomplices.
He also conducted training sessions to teach the rest how to play in each designated position.
Winnings were pooled and handed to Ang, who would then distribute "commissions" to the co-conspirators.
The co-conspirators each earned a commission of between S$300 and S$500 for each mahjong session.
There were at least 28 victims in 28 games in 2024.
Ang was assigned to be a player in 18 games, of which 12 eventually took place and in which he participated.
One victim was told he had to pay S$26,000 after losing a game on Jun 1, 2024, but refused.
Another victim was also pressured to pay S$26,000 after losing a game. Ang threatened to visit this victim's workplace and report him to the police for allegedly raping an accomplice.
Ang was arrested in June 2024 and released on bail, but reoffended and was remanded.
He was later offered bail but reoffended a second time and was remanded again.
The prosecution sought 25 to 27 months' jail with a fine of S$15,000 for Ang.
Ang's lawyer, Mr John Koh from Avalon Law, sought 19 to 21 months' jail with a fine of S$15,000.
Ang's accomplice, host and player Olivia Chin Hui Zhen, was sentenced to eight months' jail and fined S$3,000 last month. She was the first member of the group to plead guilty.
The cases involving the remaining accomplices are pending.
For each charge of conspiring to cheat, Ang could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
For unlawful gambling, he could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
For organising unlawful gambling, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to S$500,000.