Even as she was being investigated for these crimes, Hui tried to flee the country on February 7 this 12 months but was detained by airport police because she was on a detention order list.
Between February 7 and 25, throughout the investigation and before her arrest, she stole additional bank cards and money from other victims.
On Wednesday, Hui was sentenced to 2 years in prison after pleading guilty to 4 counts of fraud and one count of residential theft.
The sentence was handed down retroactively on February 27, when she was arrested and remanded in custody.
Hui worked as a kindergarten teacher at an area preschool until she was fired in November 2023. Court documents don’t indicate when she began working in that position or why she was fired.
One time in November 2023, Hui and a friend she had met a couple of months earlier through a web based app were staying in a hotel room together.
While her friend was out of the room, Hui searched through her things and located the girl’s bank card.
Hui then used her cellphone to take photos of the bank card, including the expiration date and security code, without her friend’s consent.
On November 25, 2023, Hui used his bank card details to pay for 2 hotel reservations price SGD2,317.24 (USD1,700).
Last December, Hui desired to stay at one other friend’s house, saying she desired to move out of her apartment at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites and needed a spot to remain for a couple of days until she found a brand new place.
Although her friend initially refused, she later agreed after Hui’s repeated requests.
Hui stayed at a friend’s house from December 16 to 18.
During her stay, Hui searched her friend’s wallet while she was within the shower, taking photos of multiple credit and debit cards, including their expiration dates and security codes, without her consent.
Later, between December 24, 2023 and January 20, 2024, Hui loaded a complete of 6,710.37 Singapore dollars onto his friend’s cards 50 times, allowing him to pay for packages with ClassPass and make transactions at a pottery studio and a climbing wall, amongst other things.
Initially, none of the chums suspected that Hui had committed these crimes and maintained friendly relations together with her.
Sometime in mid-January this 12 months, Hui met his first friend for a drink.
During this meeting, my friend left her purse on the seat while talking on the phone.
Hui then grabbed her friend’s purse and went to the toilet, where she took photos of her recent bank card.
Hui then returned to her seat and lied to her friend that she had taken the bag to the toilet to store it.
The next day, Hui tried to make a transaction using her substitute card, but her friend received a notification that she was requested to make use of two-factor authentication.
The friend refused the transaction and reported the matter to the police.
Around the identical time, the second friend also allowed Hui to maneuver into her house again from January 18 to 21 this 12 months.
During this time, Hui continued to look for worthwhile items to steal.
On January 20, she stole a red parcel containing 1,000 Singapore dollars in money from an acquaintance’s house.
The friend filed a report with the police.
On February 7, Hui received information that she was under police surveillance.
Lying to the investigating officer that she was sick, Hui tried to flee through Changi Airport that very same day.
However, she was detained by the airport police because she was on the surveillance list.
Later investigation revealed that Hui had repeatedly looked for information on Google that very same day to facilitate her escape.
These include searches like: “How can I escape from Singapore quietly”, “How can I leave Singapore illegally” and “If I rent a personal jet, can I fly with no passport”.
During the investigation, Hui committed further crimes that continued throughout February until her arrest and pretrial detention on February 27.
On February 21, Hui befriended a girl who lied and said she was a YouTuber from Vancouver who wanted help discovering local cuisine.
The woman invited Hui to her cell group’s Lunar New Year meeting, which was held at her home the following day.
There Hui met the third victim.
On February 22, between 6:45 and eight:00 p.m., Hui attended a gathering and noticed that participants were exchanging red packets and putting away their valuables within the unit’s school room.
Under the pretext of visiting the bathroom, Hui entered the school room and commenced searching through the participants’ personal belongings.
She found S$342 in money and two red packets containing S$30 within the victim’s wallet and stole them.
A number of days later, on February 25, Hui took part in a strength training class at Ground Zero gym, which she paid for using ClassPass credits she had earned for previous infractions.
Once there, Hui searched through open lockers containing the non-public belongings of other gym users for credit and debit cards.
In total, she found and stole 4 cards – including a GrabPay debit card and a DBS multi-currency Visa debit card.
Between Feb. 25 and Feb. 27, Hui attempted to make a transaction along with his GrabPay card. Court documents didn’t specify the quantity of the transaction or the merchant.
Hui then used his DBS debit card on February 26 to make 12 transactions totalling 1,058.98 Singapore dollars.
Between Feb. 7 and Feb. 26 of this 12 months, not less than 4 people filed police reports alleging that their bank cards had been used without their permission. Hui was later identified because the offender.
In total, Hui made 81 unauthorized transactions and attempted transactions. She caused a lack of about S$15,000.
So far, Hui has paid compensation to just one victim.
However, in doing so, she asked her friend to deceive the police, claiming it was a misunderstanding and that she had lost her own money. Her friend refused.
For each fraud charge, Hui might have been sentenced to as much as 10 years in prison and a effective.
For each count of residential theft, Hui may very well be sentenced to as much as seven years in prison and a effective.
