A 40-year-old man was sentenced to five months’ jail on Friday (Sep 26) for repeatedly cheating a convenience store of more than S$3,000 worth of cigarettes using forged PayNow screenshots.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Razali cheated 3C Supermart 116 times between July 2024 and Feb 14, 2025, obtaining S$3,132 worth of cigarettes.
- His scam was uncovered on his 117th attempt when staff verified payment records and alerted police.
- Despite full restitution and family-related pleas, the court imposed five months’ jail, citing repeated and deliberate offending.
Singaporean Mohamad Razali Ali pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating 3C Supermart at North Link Building, 10 Admiralty Street. His offences took place between July 2024 and Feb 14, 2025.
According to Channel News Asia report, Razali, who was experiencing financial difficulties, said he “still wanted to smoke cigarettes” and came up with a scheme to avoid paying.
He allegedly used a legitimate PayNow screenshot of a S$27 transfer he had made earlier. On each occasion, he would edit the date and time on the screenshot to match the approximate date and time of his visit to the store.
Razali would then enter 3C Supermart, ask the staff for two packets of cigarettes — each priced at S$13.50 — and present the doctored screenshot as proof of payment.
Between July 2024 and Feb 14, 2025, he used this method at least 116 times, obtaining cigarettes worth S$3,132 in total.
His scheme was uncovered on Feb 19, 2025, during what would have been his 117th attempt.
That day, after he asked for two packets of cigarettes, the employee on duty checked the store’s payment records and realised that Razali had not made the transfer. When asked again to show proof of payment, Razali refused.
The staff member then lodged a police report. Officers arrived shortly after and arrested him.
Razali later made full restitution in June 2025.
The court also heard that Razali had a string of previous convictions, including offences in 2003, 2005 and 2014. These involved rioting, affray and cheating with abetment.
In October 2014, he was jailed for one month for cheating with abetment.
Prosecution and defence argumentsThe prosecution described Razali’s latest offence as premeditated and relatively sophisticated, highlighting his prior related conviction as an aggravating factor.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Edwin Ho from the Public Defender’s Office asked for leniency. He said Razali had fully cooperated with investigations and had taken steps to repay the cheated amount.
Mr Ho also cited Razali’s difficult family circumstances. He said Razali’s son had attempted suicide and was due to see a psychiatrist, and Razali wanted to be released to attend the interview with a social worker.
He also wished to support his daughter’s transition to secondary school.
In addition, Razali had been deeply shocked and distraught after learning of his uncle’s passing on Friday afternoon. His lawyer told the court he wished to grieve properly with his family.
In delivering the sentence, District Judge James Elisha Lee said he considered the scale of the cheating, which involved 116 separate incidents over seven months, as well as the total value of the cigarettes taken.
The judge noted that Razali was motivated by personal gain and decided that a five-month jail term was warranted despite restitution and the plea for leniency.
Image via Google
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