Pregnant teen admits to opening bank account used to launder over S$145,000 in scam proceeds

SINGAPORE: A 17-year-old girl, who was promised a monthly payment of S$200, opened a bank account in 2021, despite knowing that it would be used to transfer “dirty money”.

The teenager’s account was later used to launder scam proceeds from nine victims totalling more than $145,000.

Now 19 and pregnant, she cannot be named as those who commit offences when they are below 18 years of age are protected under the Children and Young Persons Act.

On Aug 12, the teenager, who is expected to give birth in October, pleaded guilty to one count each of cheating and an unrelated theft charge.

On or before Sept 30, 2021, she entered into an agreement with a male former colleague to open a bank account and relinquish her control over it to him.

The teenager went to a bank on Sept 30 that year, and claimed in an application form that she would be the sole operator of the account.

After the account was opened, she handed her former colleague the banking credentials and an automated teller machine card linked to it.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ariel Tan told the court that the offender lost contact with the man soon after, and did not receive any profits for relinquishing the account to him.

Court documents did not disclose what happened next, but the teenager was out on bail when she reoffended on March 31, 2022.

At around 1pm that day, she went to a shop at Suntec City shopping mall and placed into a basket nearly $96 worth of food items, including multiple fruit tarts.

A store manager later noticed that the girl paid for only one bottle of water at the store’s checkout area and confronted her.

DPP Tan said: “The complainant decided to follow the accused out of the outlet, and upon catching up with her, he requested to check her bag. In response, the accused said, ‘Sorry, I was too tempted’.

“The complainant then brought the accused to (a pantry area) and emptied her bag… She committed this offence for the thrill of doing so without getting caught. All of the items… were returned to the outlet.”

The teenager is represented by lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong from Invictus Law Corporation.

On Aug 12, the lawyers stated in court documents: “(The girl) did not have any say or hand in the downstream misuse of her bank account. She was certainly not a member of any syndicated operation.

“(She) had also cooperated with the authorities to refer them to her ex-colleague for further investigations.”

District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan has called for a report to assess her suitability for probation, and she will be sentenced on Sept 25. – The Straits Times/ANN