Three Chinese nationals, between 29 and 49, entered Singapore on social visit passes to sell imitations of branded phones bought in China to victims here.
They were arrested and had their personal phones confiscated. All three were sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to one count of cheating each on 2 May.
Court documents did not reveal if the three men were acquainted or were working together.
Fake iPhone 15 Pro Max & Charging Cable For $800
Li Jianxin, 41, arrived in Singapore on 27 February.
At around 6pm on 20 March, he approached his victim near Liang Seah Street and offered him an iPhone 15 Pro Max and a charging cable for $800.
He also provided a forged receipt after he claimed that the phone was purchased from an Apple store in Singapore for $1,600.
The victim bargained with Li and eventually bought the phone for $700. He only realised it was fake when he later compared his phone with his colleague.
Li was arrested the next day when he tried to leave the country.
Investigations revealed he had bought the imitation phone for $200 in China, with the intention of selling it in Singapore.
Li was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail. The prosecution said he had expressed an interest in compensating and making amends with the victim.
Fake iPhone 14 Pro Max & Samsung Phone For $600 Total
Pan Weiqi, 29, arrived in Singapore on 8 March with counterfeit phones he bought in China with the intention of cheating people here, the prosecution said.
At around 2pm on 17 March, Pan approached his victim outside Rochor MRT and offered to sell him an iPhone 14 Pro Max as well as a Samsung mobile phone for a combined price of $600.
Using a forged invoice, Pan tricked the victim into believing he had bought the iPhone from an Apple store in Bugis.
The victim withdrew $600 to pay Pan and later realised the phones were fake when he went to a phone shop to buy chargers.
Pan was sentenced to 9 weeks in jail.
Fake iPhone 15 Pro Max for $350
Su Guohua, 49, arrived in Singapore on 14 March and executed his plan the same day.
He approached his victim at a car park near Geylang Bahru at around 6:30pm, offering to sell an iPhone 15 Pro Max for $350. Su claimed he was in financial distress and needed money to buy food.
After bargaining with Su, the victim withdrew money from a nearby ATM and paid Su $300 for the counterfeit phone.
The victim was persuaded into buying the phone due to the significant discount as a new iPhone 15 Pro Max costs more than $2,000 in Apple stores.
The victim found out the phone was a fake when he took it to a phone shop to get it checked, and then lodged a police report.
According to the prosecution, a box of similar counterfeit iPhones was discovered inside Su’s hotel room when he was arrested on 21 March.
He was sentenced to one month in jail.
The prosecution said that unlike Li, both Su and Pan were “highly uncooperative” during investigations. Both men also have not made any restitution.
The offence of cheating carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine.
Four More Men Charged For Cheating
Four more men, all Chinese nationals, were arrested on 26 April and were each charged on 27 April with one count of cheating.
Huang Yangshuang, 53, Huang Tiangui, 55, Zhu Peilin, 39, and Li Yangzeng, 33, are alleged to have worked together to sell fake iPhones as discounted genuine products.
The police had received two reports from victims alleging that the four had sold them counterfeit phones between $180 and $400 per piece. Victims only discovered the products were fake after authenticating it at authorised retailers.
The police then established their identities and arrested the four.
Police seized several mobile phones and accessories believed to be knock-offs as part of investigations. A photo of the seized items showed at least 41 phones and numerous cables.
The police advises members of the public to purchase only from authorised sellers or reputable sources, especially for high-value itmes.
If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
It’s not just fake phones you have to be wary about as there are also counterfeit luxury products, perfumes, apparel and more on the market.
In late February, a 55-year-old man was arrested for selling counterfeit goods.
Police seized over 25,000 counterfeit perfumes, candles, and diffusers worth more than $2 million.