Back in 2017, 32-year-old Singaporean Suhaili Suparjo fell prey to a love scam orchestrated by a Malaysia-based Nigerian.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
She had a daughter with him and helped launder over S$356,000 in criminal proceeds.
On Tuesday (21 Feb), she was sentenced to 15 months’ jail, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Suhaili first met Awolola Oladayo Opeyemi, a member of a Nigerian criminal group, on Facebook in late 2016.
He claimed to be a college student in Kuala Lumpur (KL), and his account appeared legitimate.
Intrigued that a man of a different nationality was interested in her, Suhaili befriended Awolola. Unbeknownst to her, she was the target of a love scam.
Awolola persuaded her to act as his money mule, receiving cash in person and through her bank accounts.
After her POSB account was frozen due to police investigations, Suhaili allowed Awolola to use her OCBC account.
Between June and August 2017, the account received a total of S$255,935 from four victims.
According to The Straits Times (ST), Suhaili would withdraw the money and travel to Malaysia to hand him the cash.
In court, it was revealed that Suhaili was blinded by the “fairytale love”. She was ready to go live with Awolola in Malaysia and found out about her pregnancy around February or March of 2017.
CNA reported that Awolola was happy about it and told Suhaili to keep the baby. He said he would do anything to marry her, including converting to Islam.
Subsequently, Awolola asked Suhaili to transfer and withdraw money using her bank account. He claimed it was for an overseas friend.
Suhaili acted accordingly, providing cover-up stories to Singapore police about the illegal transactions.
Awolola is believed to have gaslit her by saying she would become a single mum if she left him.
Once, when she tried to reject his request, Awolola pushed her to the ground. She was heavily pregnant at this time. So even after knowing about the crimes, she continued to help Awolola.
In Sep 2017, Suhaili gave birth to their daughter. But Awolola did not help her financially, and Suhaili’s lawyer argued that she did not gain a dime from the crimes.
Awolola and another scammer were arrested in Malaysia in 2019, reported CNA.
Later in Dec 2021, Awolola was sentenced to 60 months’ jail in Singapore.
He then sent Suhaili a Facebook message asking for forgiveness. Not wanting to be deceived, she ignored him.
Following that, she pleaded guilty to two counts of helping to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
On Tuesday (21 Feb), Suhaili was sentenced to 15 months’ jail. Another four charges were taken into consideration.
Suhaili is expected to begin serving her sentence on 7 Mar.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Shicheng.
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