Four men allegedly conspired to impersonate a homeowner and mortgage his property to obtain more than S$6 million in fraudulent loans from credit companies. They allegedly lured him away on the pretext of renting his home for filming, then arranged for valuers to enter and assess the property.
The four will be charged in court on Tuesday (10 November).
In a statement on Monday (9 November), the police said the four men allegedly conspired to impersonate the homeowner and use his home as collateral, without his knowledge, to obtain more than S$6 million in fraudulent loans from two credit companies.
The police received a report on 3 April this year from a homeowner who said a caveat had been lodged against his property in connection with a loan application he had not authorised. Preliminary investigations found that forged documents had been used to apply for a mortgage loan, with his property offered as collateral.
The homeowner is local violinist Guo Chongxi, 50, who lives in the Katong area. The Straits Times previously reported that Guo, an avid antiques collector who rents out his home for filming, found the behaviour of a film crew that visited in April this year suspicious.
Guo said the crew had specifically asked that a “female director” on site not be disturbed. But when his partner saw her taking measurements inside the house and approached her to ask what she was doing, she said she was a valuer.
Guo was away from home that day, having been invited to perform at a corporate event.
As the property’s title deed was displayed on a wall, Guo suspects those involved obtained information about his home from it. After the incident, he used a marker pen to obscure the name on the deed as a precaution.
Following further investigations, officers from Bedok Police Division identified the four men and arrested them in operations on 14 and 15 April. The men are aged between 27 and 39. The police also seized a forged identity document and several mobile phones.
Further investigations indicated that the four men allegedly worked with another man in an attempt to use Guo’s property to obtain fraudulent loans from two credit companies.
According to the statement, the 39-year-old man allegedly impersonated the homeowner and used a forged identity document to sign loan documents and obtain property-related documents from a law firm.
The 27-year-old man allegedly lured the homeowner away from his home twice on false pretences.
While the homeowner was away, the 29-year-old man allegedly helped others enter the home, allowing valuers to assess the property without the homeowner’s knowledge.
The 36-year-old man allegedly helped forge an identity card to facilitate the fraudulent scheme.
The four will face charges including abetment of cheating, abetment of the unlawful issuance of an identity card, possession of a forged identity card, and using forged electronic records as genuine.
The police are still tracing the whereabouts of another accomplice.
