A 37-year-old Singaporean, Muhammad Firdaus Abdul Rahman, travelled to a scam compound in Cambodia just weeks after his early release from prison before going on to help the same syndicate collect nearly S$656,788 from victims back home.
On Monday (22 June), Firdaus pleaded guilty to one count each of dealing with the benefits of criminal conduct and being a member of an organised criminal group.
A third charge, of conspiracy to cheat, will be taken into consideration at sentencing.
The court heard that Firdaus had been jailed for 31 months in November 2022 over an earlier cheating offence.
He behaved well in prison and was released early under a remission order in September 2024, on the condition that he stayed out of trouble until August 2025.
Within about a month of walking free, a friend named in court as Jackson Lim Soon Lai approached him with a “job” running scams out of Cambodia.
The pay on offer was a basic S$1,000 a month plus a 3% commission on every successful scam.
Firdaus took the offer, even though it meant breaching the terms of his remission.
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On 3 Oct 2024, Firdaus left for Cambodia with Lim and a third man known as Chris Jerome.
After landing, the group was driven by van to an office near one of Cambodia’s borders. The exact location was not disclosed in court.
The compound was tightly secured, with around 15 guards and several dogs posted at the entrance.
Inside, Firdaus saw roughly 60 people running different scam operations, including women said to be working online romance scams.
Firdaus and Jerome were trained to cold-call Singapore phone numbers and claim they were calling from SingCERT, Singapore’s cybersecurity emergency response agency, about a supposed cybersecurity issue.
Victims who believed them were told to hand over their savings for “verification”, and the call would then be passed to another syndicate member to complete the scam.
Whenever a victim transferred money, Firdaus and Jerome took a cut depending on who had made the initial call.
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After roughly a month on the job, Firdaus fell ill and had to be hospitalised.
The syndicate paid his medical bills, and once he was discharged, he flew back to Singapore alone.
Coming home didn’t end Firdaus’s involvement.
He helped Lim gather information on the Singapore Police Force and the Monetary Authority of Singapore for use in future scams, then agreed to collect cash parcels for Lim despite knowing the money was criminal proceeds.
Between 19 April and 3 May 2025, he picked up nearly S$656,788 from at least 14 victims at locations including Raffles Place, Jurong West, and Ang Mo Kio, earning at least S$1,000 for his part.
Court documents did not state how the offences were eventually discovered, but Firdaus was arrested and charged later in 2025.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Xavier Tan has asked the court to sentence Firdaus to up to six years and three months in jail, with an additional enhancement of up to 267 days for breaching his remission order.
The prosecution pointed to how well-organised the syndicate was, citing its size, training programme, and tight security, as well as the broader harm caused by the spread of such scams.
Defence lawyer Tony Chua has asked for a lighter sentence, citing his client’s poor health.
He told the court that Firdaus suffers from a heart condition and spent three days in a coma while in remand.
Firdaus will be sentenced on 6 Aug.
Also read: S’porean linked to Cambodia scam syndicate arrested in M’sia & deported to S’pore, will be charged
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Featured image by MS News.