SINGAPORE: A Malaysian, who arranged to meet a prospective Bitcoin seller to buy the digital currency, was instead robbed of S$365,000 (RM1.08mil) in cash.

Pang Joon Hau, who is believed to be in his 20s, had gone to Singapore on April 8 to buy Bitcoin and contacted a Singaporean broker.

Pang and his broker met two men, who claimed to have Bitcoin to sell, at Hotel 81 in Middle Road.

However, after determining that Pang had the money, the two men assaulted the Malaysian and his broker, and fled with the sum.

Yesterday, police told a press conference that the two men had been arrested after a report was lodged.

Mohd Abdul Rahman Mohamad, 36, who claimed to be a Bitcoin broker, was charged with robbery.

It is believed that he had spent an estimated S$80,000 (RM236,796) of the money on luxury hotels and shopping.

He was arrested in a hotel in Sentosa on Tuesday.

He was charged along with his friend Syed Mokhtar Syed Yusope, also 36, an Uber driver who pretended to be a Bitcoin seller.

Syed Mokhtar had made away with a share of about S$10,000 (RM29,559) before being arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint on Monday.

A police spokesman told the Straits Times that they were also investigating the origins of Pang’s money, which he carried in cash.

At the press conference, Commander of Central Police Division Assistant Commissioner Arthur Law said it was not common for people to perform bitcoin transactions in person and with such large amounts of cash.

The police advised the public to exercise discretion when dealing with strangers and to avoid carrying large amounts of cash. — The Straits Times/Asia News Network