A 33-year-old woman has admitted to cheating several businesses, including two restaurants, out of more than S$9,000 worth of food and services by using doctored PayNow screenshots over a span of more than two years.
Santos-Tumalip Maria Monalyn Bagaporo, a Filipino national, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Nov 11) to four charges, including cheating and theft. Another three charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
According to Channel News Asia, Court documents revealed that Bagaporo began her deception in May 2022, targeting the Home of Seafood restaurant at Joo Chiat Place.
To avoid paying for her orders, she transferred money to her own PayNow account, took screenshots of the transactions, and then used a mobile app to alter the images so that they appeared to show payments made to the restaurant.
She sometimes changed the sender details to make it look like the payments came from different accounts. The edited screenshots were sent via WhatsApp to the restaurant as “proof” of payment.
Trusting the fabricated screenshots, the restaurant processed her orders and arranged deliveries.
Between May 2022 and August 2023, Bagaporo placed more than 35 such orders, receiving food worth approximately S$3,892. She reportedly told investigators she did it to “impress her friends” by buying them food.
The fraud was discovered when the restaurant manager reviewed bank statements and noticed discrepancies between the supposed PayNow transfers and actual payments received.
A police report was subsequently lodged, as per the CNA report.
Despite being under investigation, Bagaporo used the same method to cheat another eatery — Italian restaurant Baci Baci — between June 2024 and May 2025.
She placed 24 food orders via WhatsApp, again submitting fake PayNow screenshots as proof of payment. The restaurant, which delivered her food through Lalamove, later found that no payments had been received. The total loss amounted to about S$6,168.
Bagaporo’s offences were not limited to food orders. In November 2024, she stole groceries worth about S$739 from a Giant supermarket outlet in Bedok.
She also duped a hair salon along Stamford Road by posing as a customer named “Tom” who wanted to buy a treatment voucher for his “sister.” Using the same fraudulent method, she sent a fake PayNow screenshot as payment and later redeemed the voucher for hair treatment worth S$381.50.
When the salon realised no payment had been received and contacted her for repayment, Bagaporo made repeated excuses. She later deleted her WhatsApp conversations with the salon after being contacted by police, in an attempt to obstruct investigations.
Bagaporo has since made restitution to both the Home of Seafood and the salon. She has been in remand since September.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) argued for a sentence of 23.5 to 27 months’ imprisonment, describing Bagaporo’s conduct as “flagrant and recalcitrant.” The prosecutor noted that she had reoffended while on court bail and repeatedly exploited businesses through the same dishonest scheme.
Bagaporo is represented by Ms. Lim Lei Theng from Allen & Gledhill under the Enhanced Guidance for Plea Scheme. She will be sentenced later this week.
Under Singapore law, cheating carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
Image via Google
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