Austin Toh En Zheng, 25, faced sentencing after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including cheating, sexually penetrating a 15-year-old girl, and providing false statements to authorities. Prosecutors detailed Toh’s manipulation of victims through investment scams and a significant betrayal of trust involving a female acquaintance, resulting in her losing over $149,000.
Following his release on bail, Toh engaged in further criminal activity by having unprotected sex with the underage girl and conspiring to frame a 17-year-old boy for rape as revenge.
Ultimately, his deceit unraveled when both the girl and Toh confessed to the falsehoods, leading to his arrest and a sentence of three years and four months.
DETAILS OF THE CASE
According to Straits Times report, a 25-year-old man, Austin Toh En Zheng, has been sentenced to three years and four months in prison for a series of crimes, including cheating and sexually assaulting a minor. Toh, who was out on bail for prior charges at the time of his offenses, pleaded guilty to seven charges, including sexually penetrating a 15-year-old girl and providing false statements to law enforcement.
Toh’s criminal activities began on January 6, 2023, when he received unsolicited investment offers via Telegram from unknown individuals promising him $1,000 in exchange for allowing access to his bank accounts.
Over a period of six months, he relinquished control of five bank accounts, which were subsequently used to receive more than $423,000 from various victims of investment scams. By the time police seized the accounts, they contained only between $1.58 and $8,000.
In a separate incident, Toh defrauded a 23-year-old female acquaintance of more than $149,000. After she allowed him to use her phone to book a hotel room, Toh convinced her to transfer her funds to a mutual acquaintance’s bank account for “safekeeping,” claiming it was necessary to prevent the funds from being lost.
Toh later instructed the acquaintance to withdraw the money, which he handed over to Toh, who then revealed that he had cheated the woman. The acquaintance eventually reported Toh to the authorities, leading to his arrest on January 26, 2023.
The victim managed to recover nearly $131,000 of her funds, according to ST.
After being released on bail on January 28, 2023, Toh continued to engage in criminal behavior, having unprotected sex with the 15-year-old girl five months later.
Following a dispute with a 17-year-old boy, Toh sought revenge by encouraging the girl to file a false police report claiming that the boy had raped her.
The girl, fearing for her safety, complied and lodged the report on August 8, 2023.
Unbeknownst to Toh, the police were already investigating his actions, including cheating two individuals out of iPhones worth nearly $3,000 in August and September 2023. Toh surrendered to the police on September 18, 2023, and was remanded.
While incarcerated at Changi Prison Complex, Toh provided a false statement to police, claiming that the 17-year-old boy had raped the girl. However, on March 22, 2024, the girl confessed to law enforcement that she had lied. Toh eventually admitted the truth when confronted by investigators.
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