A Singaporean woman who cheated her mother’s superstitious friend out of her life savings has been sentenced to 15 months in jail.
According to a report by Today, when Soh Chih Hui was just 17 years old, she approached Goh Seng Mui, 56, and told her that she had found a potential husband for her.
Soh pretended to be a child deity, speaking in a high-pitched voice, to fool the victim, saying that she was “not fated” to find a husband, and needed to “borrow fate” by giving away money as well as say prayers and do rituals.
On other occasions, Soh used a low voice to pretend to be a deity known as “Fu Wang”.
Through this ruse, Soh was able to swindle Goh of at least SG$49,600. This included an insurance payout of over SG$47,000. When Goh ran out of money, she begged her brother to lend her more.
Soh then used the money to buy cosmetics, shoes, and clothing. She even told Goh to sell her HDB flat, but the victim did not hand over the proceeds of the sale.
District Judge Carol Ling rejected Soh’s lawyers’ appeal for probation instead of jail time, given that she was below 18 years old when the crime was committed in 2015.
However, the judge noted that Soh continued to deny her wrongdoing and has not expressed regret or made any restitution to the victim.
“The manner in which she cheated the victim, treating her as a personal ATM as the prosecution puts it, wholly reflects a cunning, scheming and manipulative mind that merits a custodial term,” the judge told the court.
For the offence, Soh was sentenced to 15 months in jail, and was ordered to return the amount she cheated. If she fails to comply, her jail sentence will be extended by two weeks.
