Man uses Carousell fraud to get his apartment lease terminated

SINGAPORE – A man who had no intention of renting out his apartment listed it on Carousell in an attempt to scam interested buyers out of their money.

Lee Chee Tiong, 41, was sentenced to 10 months in prison on Tuesday (18 January) after pleading guilty to three of eight counts of fraud. The remaining charges were taken into account in sentencing.

The Singaporean, who worked as a delivery driver for Shopee and earned over $3,000 a month, defrauded eight different victims of $17,250, causing them and their families “significant inconvenience,” according to the indictment.

“Many of the defendant’s victims had brought their family members to view the apartment at Bedok North Avenue 2, fully expecting to be able to move into the apartment at short notice… The defendant repeatedly fobbed off the victims with various excuses,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Siaw.

“Some of his victims did not realise the scam until the police contacted them and were still waiting for his message about when they could move in.”

Excuses made after accepting deposits

An Indian national saw Lee’s ad on Carousell on January 16 last year. Lee had offered to rent out his apartment for $1,550 per month.

Two days later, the victim brought his wife and three-year-old daughter to view the apartment and agreed to rent it from Lee. Lee had him sign a written agreement outlining the rental terms.

The next day, the victim transferred $3,000 as a security deposit and one month’s rent into Lee’s bank account. Lee replied that he would submit the victim’s family information to the Housing Development Board for registration.

On January 21, the victim contacted Lee to review the application, and Lee claimed it was still being processed.

A few days later, Lee contacted the victim and demanded another two months’ rent up front. The victim agreed, but said he would make the payment when he moved in. Since the two could not agree on terms, the victim asked for his lease to be terminated and his money returned. Lee agreed.

At midnight on January 25, 2021, Lee sent the victim a message saying that she could move in on January 31. The victim was suspicious and filed a report at the Bedok North Neighbourhood Police Centre.

On January 12 last year, another victim – an Indian national with a wife and two young children – responded to Lee’s ad because his own lease was expiring. He gave Lee a security deposit and a monthly rent of $3,100. The victim inspected the apartment with his wife and two children on January 13 and signed a lease the next day.

However, Lee delayed the paperwork until the victim also filed a police report on February 9.

A third victim, a Singaporean, responded to Lee’s ad on January 10 last year and signed a six-month lease for the apartment, paying him $3,750 in advance rent for three months.

When the victim contacted Lee on February 1 to collect the keys, Lee claimed he had dengue fever and did not respond to her until February 19, only to make further excuses for the delay.

On February 24, police called this woman to tell her she had been scammed.

Scammed to repay debts to unlicensed moneylenders

When questioned by police, Lee admitted that he never intended to rent the apartment. He had only advertised it on Carousell to raise money for his personal use, including to pay off his debts to unlicensed moneylenders.

He had prepared rental agreements by searching for sample contracts on Google and then printing them out.

Lee paid a partial refund of $1,200 to the first victim, but denied the other two victims named in court documents.

His lawyer, Riko Isaac, said Lee had struggled to support his family and had borrowed money from licensed and unlicensed moneylenders.

Lee tried to rent out his house but decided to scam prospective buyers after receiving a “huge response” to his ad.

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