A 25-year-old woman wanted to buy a game console on a secondhand platform, Carousell, but ended up losing over $260,000 to the seller she thought had become her friend.
The seller, 31-year-old Thevendran s/o Elan Goven, admitted to one charge of cheating in court on Wednesday (August 27). According to the report, two other charges will be taken into consideration when he is sentenced on September 2.
Victim’s money came from inheritance
According to the prosecution, the victim’s losses included money she inherited from her late mother’s CPF savings and insurance payout. Believing she had formed a friendship with the accused, she trusted him.
But he exploited this trust, using the money to pay for personal expenses and gambling debts. The prosecution is seeking a jail term of 23 to 24 months.
How the scam unfolded
Court documents showed that around July 24, 2021, the accused posted a listing for a game console on Carousell. The victim paid him a $150 deposit, with the balance to be paid after delivery. The console never came, but the two continued chatting on WhatsApp.
Between Aug 17, 2021 and Jan 9, 2022, the accused asked the victim for money 57 times under different excuses, such as his pet dog being sick, needing to pay bail, paying suppliers, or delivery issues. In total, he cheated her of $268,171, promising he would return the money.
The accused knew the money came from her late mother’s CPF and insurance funds, which were all she had. At one point, she even secretly transferred $26,000 from her father’s account to help him.
Victim left struggling
Because of the loans, the victim could not even cover her daily expenses. The accused returned $5,000 between Nov 2021 and Feb 2022, but the woman, who was still studying, had to take on part-time work to survive.
Her father later discovered missing funds in his bank account and reported the matter to the police, which exposed the scam.
By July 2024 and June 2025, the accused repaid a total of $104,000.
Plea for a lighter sentence
His lawyer said he had borrowed from loan sharks due to gambling debts, and after the debts snowballed, he committed the offence when harassed by them. The lawyer added that he cooperated with investigations and pleaded guilty early, asking the court for leniency.
The case will be sentenced on Sept 2.
