Man jailed after joining Cambodia scam syndicate that fired him in 3 days for poor performance

Man jailed after joining Cambodia scam syndicate that fired him in 3 days for poor performance Yip Chee Ming was unsuccessful in making any scam calls while at the syndicate's compound. SINGAPORE: A man who decided to join a scam syndicate in Cambodia was fired after three days due to his poor performance. Yip Chee Ming, 30, could not make any successful scam calls during his short stint at the scam syndicate compound in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the court heard on Friday (Jun 26), as it sentenced the Malaysian to 16 months and two weeks' jail. Yip, who appeared in court via videolink, pleaded guilty to one count of being part of an organised crime group, with another count of cheating taken into consideration for sentencing. He was part of the syndicate, based in Phnom Penh, between Nov 21 and Nov 23, 2024. Yip was among a group of 12 people charged in court over the scam offences in September last year. At least one other person from the same group, De Villar Rizalyn Panganiban, is contesting the charges against her. HOW YIP JOINED THE SYNDICATE Yip learned about the job opportunity to work in a scam centre in Cambodia in October 2024, through a person known as "Jason". Jason told Yip he was nervous about trying the job and asked if Yip was keen to join him. Yip agreed. Jason and Yip were then added to a Telegram group conversation and told they were to scam victims. They were offered the chance to have a look at the scam syndicate's premises, with expenses fully covered. On Oct 25, 2024, both men flew to Cambodia from Malaysia. They were then showed around the premises - which was then a five-storey bungalow - on Oct 29, 2024. Yip decided to join the syndicate and returned to Cambodia with Jason on Nov 21, 2024 and was briefed on the modus operandi of the scam on Nov 22. He was to pose as a bank officer, deceive victims into believing there were unauthorised transactions in their bank accounts, then transfer them to another caller. He accepted a basic salary of US$1,800 (S$2,300) a month, plus a 1 per cent commission on the amounts transferred by his victims. Yip started learning from other callers and began memorising a script to deliver to victims but was unable to "deliver the lines confidently", court documents stated. He failed to make any successful calls on Nov 22. The next day, he again failed at the job and was told that his services were no longer wanted. A syndicate member took Yip's personal mobile phone and deleted all messages relating to working for the syndicate. Yip then left for Malaysia that night. In February 2025, Yip started working in Singapore as a delivery driver, earning a salary of about S$2,300 per month. He was arrested on Sep 9, 2025. Yip's lawyer, Choo Zheng Xi, cited his client's cooperation with the authorities as a mitigating factor and sought a sentence of 13.8 months' jail. "Mr Yip’s case is unique, because, as even the prosecution concedes, he did not make a single successful scam call as part of the scam syndicate," the defence stated in its submissions. Mr Choo added that his client was a member of the syndicate for "an extraordinarily short period of time" and was not paid a single cent. In sentencing Yip, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan noted that the government impersonation scam syndicate had targeted Singaporeans and caused losses of at least S$52.5 million across 528 reported cases over about a year. Of that amount, S$11.8 million was from at least 90 elderly victims. The judge noted that Yip had no position in the syndicate's hierarchy, caused no quantifiable loss, received no payment, and was a member for only a short period before being dismissed. However, Judge Tan said Yip's culpability was not as low as the defence had suggested. Yip knew that the syndicate targeted Singaporean victims and had agreed to a basic salary and commission. He was also issued a mobile phone installed with tools to help him commit the offences. "His decision to join was deliberate and financially motivated. As the prosecution correctly submits, the accused was essentially fired because he could not confidently perform scam calls despite his best efforts, and had not left out of remorse," Judge Tan said. "Any mitigatory credit for his short membership ought to be significantly circumscribed." However, Judge Tan acknowledged Yip’s cooperation with the authorities, including information he provided to identify syndicate members and his willingness to testify against his co-accused. "The Organised Crime Act was enacted precisely to disrupt the kind of transnational syndicates that are the subject-matter of this case, and this court needs to impose a deterrent sentence to send a clear message to both those in Singapore and outside that they will be met with severe consequences should they decide to join syndicates that target our country, especially if they try to do it from abroad, thinking that they are outside the reach of our laws," Judge Tan said. For being part of an organised crime group, Yip could have been fined up to S$100,000, or jailed up to five years, or both.