Man scams store with fake PayNow screenshots when buying cigarettes
A 40-year-old man in Singapore has been jailed for five months after repeatedly using edited PayNow screenshots to cheat a convenience store into handing him free cigarettes.
He used these screenshots 116 times in total, and was finally caught on his 117th attempt.
By that time, Mohamad Razali Ali had cheated a 3C Supermart of S$3,132 in total.
Source: Google Maps
Man had financial difficulties but still wanted to smoke
The court heard that Mohamad Razali Ali was struggling financially in July 2024 but “still wanted to smoke cigarettes”.
Instead of paying for his habit, Razali devised a scheme.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), he recycled a genuine PayNow transfer screenshot, altering the date and time, and used it as “proof” of payment whenever he wanted cigarettes.
Each time, he would walk into 3C Supermart at North Link Building along Admiralty Street, request two packs — each pack worth $13.50 — and show the doctored screenshot to the staff.
Image for illustrative purposes only.
Over seven months, the store unknowingly handed over S$3,132 worth of cigarettes for free.
Caught on the 117th try of forging PayNow screenshots for cigarettes
Razali’s run finally ended on 19 Feb 2025, when a staff member decided to double-check his payment.
After realising no transfer had gone through, the worker asked Razali to show the proof of payment again.
He refused the request.
Suspicious, the employee called the police, and officers arrived shortly after and arrested him.
Court proceedings: Perpetrator was ‘deeply distressed’
Razali has pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating.
The prosecution argued that the scam was premeditated and quite sophisticated, highlighting his prior convictions for cheating and related offences.
He had previously been jailed in October 2014 for a similar crime, cheating with abetment, CNA reported.
On top of that crime, he had prior convictions in 2003 and 2005 for other offences like rioting and affray.
His lawyer sought leniency, citing Razali’s family circumstances.
He said that Razali had been cooperative and a long term jail sentence could be damaging for his family.
Razali’s teenage son had attempted suicide and was due for psychiatric assessment, while his daughter needed support adjusting to secondary school, the lawyer said.
Source: SUWANNAR KAWILA on Canva. Image for illustrative purposes only.
Razali also learned of his uncle’s death on the day of sentencing and was said to be deeply distressed, CNA said.
In delivering the sentence, District Judge James Elisha Lee pointed to the deliberate nature of the offence, the total value involved, and the sheer number of times it was carried out.
Razali, he said, was motivated by personal gain and had carried out the scam systematically over months.
Razali was sentenced to five months’ jail.
He has paid the full amount to the convenience store in June this year.
Also read: Woman apologises for using fake PayNow screenshot at Thai restaurant in Katong, says she has bulimia
Woman apologises for using fake PayNow screenshot at Thai restaurant in Katong, says she has bulimia
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Featured image adapted from TheSmartLocal and Singapore Atrium Sale on Facebook for illustration purposes only.
