Man jailed for "relentless and ruthlessly" cheating friend of S$878,000

ALL content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.
http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC120726-0000125/Man-jailed-for-cheating-friend-of-S$878,000

ANYTHING FOR MONEY

A bankrupt who cheated his friend of almost S$878,000 has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years' jail.

37-year-old Lee Chee Heng learnt that his friend had received a hefty insurance payout after suffering a heart attack. So for more than two years, he meticulously wiped out his friend's savings, and caused him to incur debts with 11 financial institutions.

The prosecution described Lee's deed as the "relentless and ruthless financial destruction of the victim".

The ruse, which began in 2008, saw Lee posing as a lawyer and deceiving the victim into buying a condominium unit at Marina Boulevard.

Convinced by Lee that it was a good investment, the victim forked out amounts varying between S$12,000 and S$64,000 on several occasions.

The victim, in a statement, claimed that he had trusted Lee and did not suspect that he was lying.

He added that he had "felt pressured to keep giving Lee the money he requested" as he had "already invested so much in the condominium unit".

Lee pleaded guilty to 24 counts of cheating. Ninety-nine other similar counts were taken into consideration.

About 5 per cent of the money (S$47,570) taken from the victim has been recovered through the sale of Lee's BMW car which was purchased with the illegal proceeds.

The victim cannot be named due to a gag order.