If you’re shopping for luxury goods online, then the rule of thumb is to always ensure that you always remain wary and ensure that you are buying from a trustworthy seller to prevent falling victim to scam operations. Such instances have already been known to take place, including in Malaysia where a woman was duped out of RM5,200 when she attempted to purchase a Chanel bag from an online.
Unfortunately given how sophisticated some of these scam operations have grown to become, it can be increasingly difficult for consumers to discern between authentic vendors and those who are out to fleece you out of your hard-earned money. And in the case of one couple in Singapore, they have built a lavish lifestyle for themselves by doing the latter.
Couple from Singapore scammed clients through luxury goods business
26-year-old Singaporean man Pi Jiapeng, and his 27-year-old Thai national wife, Siriwipa Pansuk, founded a company which claims to help interested buyers from the island-state to procure luxury goods such as handbags, clothing items, jewelry, and watches. They allegedly met over the social media dating platform Tinder before marrying and going into business together.
By taking clients out for expensive meals and inviting them to a tastefully decorated landed-home along Holland Road, the duo built a sizeable reputation for their businesses, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, which engaged in the procurement of luxury goods such as clothing, bags, jewellrey, and watches. This was further bolstered by the favourable reviews accrued from social media influencers for their physical stores, in addition to those on their shopfront hosted via e-commerce platform Carousell.
However, the couple would repeatedly make excuses as to why they were not able to fulfill orders after customers had already paid for them. Reports were then lodged against the company by disgruntled clients who claim to have not received any of their goods as promised, with one couple speaking with Singaporean news outlet CNA claiming that they had sustained losses of SGD $180,000 (RM583,721.69).
Pi was subsequently arrested by the police over suspected cheating offenses and had his passport impounded, but was subsequently released on bail. His girlfriend on the other hand had surrendered her passport to the authorities and had been cooperating with investigations at the time, before both suddenly became unreachable.
Attempted to escape the country after they were investigated
They were then said to have attempted to escape Singapore by hiding in a Malaysian-registered lorry. The 40-year-old lorry driver was detained and charged for abetting the duo, alongside a 38-year-old Malaysian man who colluded with them. The couple was then flagged with red notices by Interpol, which are usually issued for fugitives who are wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence.
Both were finally arrested yesterday (August 11th 2022) by Malaysian authorities in Johor, before being handed over to Singaporean law-enforcement officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint. According to The Straits Times, Singaporean police had received a tip-off from the Royal Thai Police that the couple had been staying at a hotel in Johor Bahru, prior to their arrest.
“The SPF immediately sought the assistance of the Royal Malaysia Police to locate the couple. The warrant of arrest was executed by the Royal Malaysia Police in Johor Bahru on Aug 11,” they said.
The couple will be facing charges of criminal conspiracy to commit cheating and illegal departure, and are expected to be charged in court today. In total, they are said to have defrauded clients out of around SGD $32 million (RM103 million) in unfulfilled orders for luxury goods, with 180 reports made against them.
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Also read: M’sian woman gets scammed out of RM5,200 after trying to buy Chanel bag from online seller
