S'pore man allegedly poses as woman on dating apps to lure victims into rigged mahjong games with '99%' win rate - Mothership

He boasted that he achieved a "99% win rate".

A Singaporean man devised an elaborate scheme to cheat victims of their money by having them sit in rigged mahjong games.

To do this, Marcus Ang Yi Sheng allegedly posed as a woman on dating apps to lure them into playing.

Unbeknownst to the victim, all the other players at the table would be co-conspirators who colluded to ensure that the victim lost.

The scheme was so effective that Ang allegedly bragged that they had a "99 per cent win rate", estimating that the crew made S$100,000 in ill-gotten gains.

CNA reported that one co-conspirator, Olivia Chin Hui Zhen, 31, was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment and fined S$3,000 on Oct. 1.

She pleaded guilty to four charges of conspiracy to cheat and one charge of unlawful gambling, with another 32 charges taken into consideration.

The rest of the group have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, except for one whose case is still pending.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the persons involved besides Ang and Chin are the following: Jason Chin Yi Sheng, Kristy Tan Siew Boon, Leong Ying Liat, Penelope Kek Yong Ru, Chloe Low Zhiyi, Belinda Chee Yan Lin and Li Yongyi Joaquin.

The court heard that from April 2024, Ang created fake profiles on dating apps, and he would then chat with victims and ask them to play mahjong.

Once they accepted, one of Ang's female accomplices would pose as the woman in the profile and either host the game or serve as their "date" during the game.

Ang would then allegedly direct each of the conspirators present to take on pseudonyms and fake relations with one another, acting as siblings or strangers for instance.

This was so that the victim's suspicion would not be aroused by the fact that they all knew one another.

At the mahjong table, each player took on a specific role depending on their seat.

One player would "defend" against the victim; another would form a winning hand as quickly as possible or "throw" tiles to the third player; and the third would aim to form the biggest hand possible to maximise winnings from the victim.

When Chin would serve as the host or "date", she was instructed that should the victim refuse to pay, she should pretend to offer to cover half the sum so that the victim might be more willing to pay some money.

Ang also made a WhatsApp group, “Sales appointment updates”, to coordinate games and dole out commissions to each player.

He even purportedly organised training sessions for each player to familiarise themselves with their role.

In total, no fewer than 28 games were arranged between April and June 2024, but only 19 took place.

Victims were made to pay sums between S$1,120 to S$26,000 after they lost.

One victim purportedly refused to pay S$26,000 and left. The conspirators followed him to his house but were unsuccessful in obtaining the money.

Another victim allegedly refused to pay a similar sum, prompting the group to quarrel with him at the void deck and tell him that they would find him at his workplace and report him to the police for "raping" his fictitious "date".

Eventually, one victim made a police report.

According to CNA, Chin's lawyers sought leniency and a reduced sentence, saying that she had made full restitution.

She was the first in the group to plead guilty.

Her lawyers also argued that she had the least culpability as she was not only less experienced in the game than the others, but also did not know that the games were rigged at first, only getting involved in the scheme later.

The prosecution countered that she was involved in the conspiracy, nevertheless, and played several games, acting on Ang's instructions.

The judge said that her abilities in mahjong were irrelevant insofar as she had played a role in the scheme, but took into account the restitution that she made.

He deferred Chin's sentence by four weeks for her to settle her affairs.

For conspiracy to cheat, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

For unlawful gambling, an offender can receive up to six months' imprisonment, fined up to S$10,000, or both.