On 28 Mar, 31-year-old Subramaniam Perumal was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to 36 charges of cheating.
More than 50 people have paid several hundred dollars as deposits to rent vehicles from a “dealer” on Carousell but they never received the vehicles. Subramaniam made off with S$8,170 through his online scams.
Between August 2018 to December 2018, Subramaniam would download pictures of cars from other Carousell advertisements and ‘rent’ them out on his own Carousell account. He would then ask for interested users to transfer him a deposit of a few hundred dollars.
After receiving the money, Subramaniam would stop responding to their messages. When he received a negative feedback on his account, he would simply set up another account and continue his deception.
When texting his victims, he would use mobile prepaid cards that were not registered under his name.
How to trust Carousell like that when buying such a big item. No lemon law, no guarantee. Very difficult for consumers leh. Legit car dealers who want to do business also affected. I wonder if there is a platform out there which can provide satisfaction for both car dealers and consumers.
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