Indian origin jailed in Singapore for cheating bank relating to housing deals

Singapore, August 20

An Indian-origin man was sentenced to seven years and six months’ jail for being a part of a group that duped a bank into disbursing more than SGD 5.1 million loans related to the sale of two houses here, a media report said on Tuesday.

Bijabahadur Rai Shree Kantrai, 54, was convicted of seven similar charges. Sufandi Ahmad, 44, Kok Chiew Leong, 51, Mohamed Haron Hassan, 43, and Juma’at Johari, 44, all his accomplices in the ruse were also sentenced to different terms for different counts in connection with the cheating that took place in 2013 and 2014, a newspaper reported.

The prosecution said that the sellers of two properties – one in Saraca Terrace near Yio Chu Kang Road and another in Woodgrove Walk near Woodlands Street 41 – had paid SGD 7,64,000 in cash back.

Rai had directed the sharing of money among the group’s four other members who worked together in a ruse which led to Maybank being duped into disbursing mortgage loans totalling more than SGD5.1 million linked to the sale of two houses, the report said.

Deputy public prosecutors Suhas Malhotra, Joseph Gwee and Matthew Choo stated in court documents that as part of the ruse, the sellers of the properties were convinced to inflate the price of the houses they were selling, as well as to pay “cash back” to the accused parties after they were sold.