On Thursday (6 Feb), a Singaporean woman named Foo Mei Qi was sentenced to three years’ jail after pleading guilty to scamming victims into purchasing Taylor Swift concert tickets that did not exist.
76 victims reportedly fell for her scams.
Foo reportedly accumulated more than S$110,000 through the scams but did not make restitution to the victims.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Foo listed tickets to Taylor Swift’s Era Tour concerts in Singapore on Carousell last March.
However, upon receiving payment from the victims, the 30-year-old allegedly ceased contact with them.
The 30-year-old reportedly did not have the intention or means to produce any of the tickets she ‘sold’ to the victims.
She had 12 tickets to the concerts but had already sold or promised them to other buyers. These buyers were not among the 76 victims.
The scams took place over eight months, between June 2023 and Feb 2024, reported The Straits Times.
Foo’s latest offences came shortly after she was convicted of similar concert ticket scams in March 2022. She was sentenced to 17 months’ jail then.
As Foo had reoffended shortly after her release, the judge argued that she had not been rehabilitated and was not deterred by her previous jail term.
The court had also considered two similar charges, with the amount involved totalling over S$8,800.
Source: iStock. For illustration purposes only.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Yohanes Ng asked for at least three years’ jail, describing Foo’s latest offences as an escalation from her previous cases.
On the other hand, Foo’s lawyer V Devaraj pleaded for a jail term of between 28 and 30 months, arguing that she “voluntarily” surrendered to the police.
However, DPP Ng pointed out that she only did so after numerous police reports were lodged.
During sentencing, District Judge Paul Chan stated that Ms Foo’s “criminal appetite” had grown as it involved more victims and money.
The offence of cheating comes with a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine. Foo could’ve been sentenced to two times the maximum penalty as her charge was amalgamated.
Also read: Woman suspected of cheating Taylor Swift fans of S$24K in Carousell ticket scam charged
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Featured image adapted from AEG Presents Asia on Facebook and by MS News.
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