On Wednesday (16 Aug) night, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) shocked the nation with news of a massive cross-island operation in which they seized S$1 billion worth of assets from alleged money laundering activities.
What stood out about the case was that all 10 suspects arrested were foreigners.
Source: Singapore Police Force
Of the 10, three are reportedly People’s Republic of China (PRC) nationals while the rest are from Cambodia, Cyprus, Türkiye, and Vanuatu. Despite the various nationalities, all 10 of them have Chinese names.
Here’s what we know so far about the suspects.
Of the three PRC nationals, two were arrested at their residence on Pearl Island, in the luxurious Sentosa Cove enclave.
The pair comprises 44-year-old Zhang Ruijin and 43-year-old Lin Baoying, a woman Zhang referred to as his “lover”, reported The Business Times.
Even though both were identified as PRC nationals, they hold foreign passports believed to be issued by other countries.
Zhang reportedly has a passport from St Kitts and Nevis — an island country in the Caribbean — while Lin has passports from the Dominican Republic and Türkiye.
Items seized:
Charge they face:
Police arrested Wang Baosen, the remaining PRC national, at a condominium along Tomlinson Road in Orchard.
Officers found a passport, believed to be issued by Vanuatu — an island nation in the Pacific Ocean — in Wang’s possession.
Items seized:
Charge he faces:
Besides the PRC nationals, three Cambodian nationals were also arrested in the islandwide raids.
The first of these is 41-year-old Su Baolin, whom police arrested at a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) along Nassim Road in Bukit Timah.
In his possession was a foreign passport believed to be issued by the PRC.
Items seized:
Charge he faces:
The police similarly arrested 31-year-old Su Wenqiang, whom they identified as a Cambodian national, at a GCB along Lewis Road in the upscale Bukit Timah estate.
They found a foreign passport believed to be issued by the PRC in Su’s possession.
Items seized:
Charge he faces:
The last Cambodian national was identified as 33-year-old Chen Qingyuan.
Unlike the other two, police arrested Chen in a condominium along Leonie Hill Road in River Valley.
Chen reportedly had in his possession foreign passports from the PRC and Dominican Republic.
Items seized:
Charge he faces:
Meanwhile, police identified one of the Cypriots arrested as 40-year-old Su Haijin.
Of the 10 arrests, Su’s was probably the most dramatic.
According to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) press release on Wednesday (16 Aug), Su jumped from the second floor of his GCB when officers identified themselves outside his bedroom.
The police eventually found the 40-year-old hiding in a drain.
On Wednesday (16 Aug), Su reportedly told the court that he wasn’t trying to run away from the police. He thought the knocks were from a man whose girlfriend he had an “intimate encounter” with.
According to The Straits Times (ST), Su fractured his hands and legs as a result of the jump.
During the time of arrest, he had foreign passports from the PRC and Cambodia.
Items seized:
Source: Singapore Police Force
Charge he faces:
34-year-old Wang Dehai was the other Cypriot arrested during the islandwide raids on Tuesday (15 Aug).
ST reported that police arrested Wang at his condominium along Paterson Hill in Orchard.
Similar to Su, Wang reportedly had foreign passports from the PRC and Cambodia.
Items seized:
Charge he faces:
The sole Turkish suspect was arrested at a GCB along Bishopgate in Tanglin.
Identified as 42-year-old Vang Shuiming, the man was holding two foreign passports believed to be issued by the PRC and Vanuatu.
Items seized:
Charge he faces:
The last of the 10 arrested suspects was Su Jianfeng, a 35-year-old male, Ni-Vanuatu national.
He was arrested at his residence, a GCB reportedly located along Third Avenue in Bukit Timah.
In his possession was a foreign passport believed to be issued by the PRC.
Items seized:
Charge he faces:
In total, the police seized cash amounting to S$23 million as well as other items of value. These include:
Source: Singapore Police Force
The police also issued prohibition of disposal orders for 94 properties and 50 vehicles. These assets have an estimated value of more than S$815 million.
Source: Singapore Police Force
All 10 suspects have been charged on Wednesday (16 Aug) and remanded.
Their cases have been adjourned to next week.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force.
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