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SINGAPORE — Battling his debts, a man who has been in and out of prison over the years for cheating tricked other patients into handing over around S$40,000 (RM141,568) by offering to book hotel rooms for them at a cheaper price. rates despite not really having any to offer.
The victims included an ex-colleague who made bookings that totalled over S$25,000 through him.
When the police caught up with him and his case went to court last year, instead of pleading guilty, the man, Calvin Lim Boon Lay, forged medical certificates to skip hearings for about three months.
Today, the 47-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to five years of rehabilitation, after pleading guilty to four counts of cheating and one count of forgery. Ten other counts were considered at sentencing.
Remedial education is mandated for mature repeat offenders and carries a criminal penalty of up to 14 years.
S$288 for two-night MBS stay
According to court documents, victims learnt that Lim had good staycation deals at Marina Bay Sands to offer, with a three day, two night stay at the hotel going for as little as S$288.
According to today’s MBS website, a hotel costs more than S$700 per night.
One victim, Ms Low Ling Chee, knew a friend of Lim’s, who is also her former colleague.
On October 15, 2021, Ms Low contacted Lim, who told her to confirm bookings early as prices would purportedly change later that month.
Ms. Low then transferred S$4290 to PayNow to reserve some rooms.
“At the time of the incident, the accused had entered into this agreement and intended to use the cash to pay off debts he owed to lenders,” said deputy public prosecutor Lim Yu Hui.
To support the claim, Mr Lim sent Ms Low the booking reference codes he had earned at the hotel where he previously stayed.
Ms. Low began to suspect that everything was wrong when Lim kept giving excuses for postponing booking dates, such as the need to disinfect rooms due to the Covid-19 situation at the time or reservations suspended due to the return of tourists.
Lim then paid Ms Lim S$576 and paid her for a one-night stay after requesting a refund. She then filed a report with the police on December 28.
Another victim, Ms. Nur Madiah Hidayah Lim Othman, a former colleague of Lim’s, made several reservations for Lim from August to October of that year, transferring to him a total of S$25,236.
Lim booked two hotel rooms for Mrs. Lim, but the reservations were unsuccessful.
Later, Lim told him that the remaining reservations had been made and that the hotel would consider a refund.
When she learned at the hotel that no such reservations existed, Ms. Lim confronted the defendant, who admitted that he had made the reservations.
Lim then returned S$2,040 to her, which consisted of money transferred from other victims and his own salary.
Ms. Lim filed a complaint with the police on December 30, 2021.
According to DPP Lim, the total loss incurred by victims for all charges was S$39,924. The offender has made restitution of S$4,174.
Skipping court
Lim was expected to plead guilty to his cheating fees in court on June 12, 2023.
However, he forged medical certificates purportedly issued by Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) and submitted them through his lawyer and had his hearings adjourned 10 times between June and September.
The 10 forgery cases were grouped into a single forgery case.
The investigation revealed that Lim had received a model medical certificate online and edited it in text editing software Microsoft Word, before presenting the fraudulent document to his lawyer.
“The accused’s movements were only revealed after the police consulted with the KTPH, who advised that they had no records indicating that the accused was seeking redress at the hospital,” said prosecutor Lim.
“The accused committed the above offence on court bail.”
Court document did not state what led the police to finally conduct a check with the hospital.
Prosecutor Lim on Thursday asked for the sentence to be handed down to the court, noting that the offender had previous convictions for crimes.
He cited the remedial education report on Lim’s fitness, which said his existing offenses “were the newest in a series of offenses dating back 25 years. “
For example, in November 2017, Lim was sentenced to 38 months’ jail for various offences including multiple counts of cheating.
The fraudulent amount this time nearly five times the total losses from the 2017 crimes, the prosecutor said.
For each count of cheating, Lim could have been sentenced to 10 years in jail and a fine.
Each count of forgery also carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine. — TODAY