A tertiary student who wanted to make a fast buck conspired with a friend to dupe a victim by pretending to be a pimp, a court heard.

At the State Courts on Wednesday (7 November), Thanabalan Mathyalakan, 19, was found guilty of one count of abetment by conspiracy to cheat.

Thanabalan, now a full-time national serviceman, will be sentenced at a later date pending a probation suitability report.

In his defence, Thanabalan told District Judge Eddy Tham that at the time of the offence, he needed money as he was still studying.

The court heard that in August or September last year, Thanabalan, then a student at ITE College East, was approached by his friend Subramaniam Perumal to cheat a victim in a sex scam. Thanabalan was paid $50 for his role in the conspiracy. The details of this earlier case were not elaborated in court.

On 24 November last year, a second victim met Subramaniam at a void deck in Lompang Road. The victim handed over $250 to Subramaniam, who pretended to be the agent of a female prostitute, and was told to head to the 16th floor.

But when he got there, there was no prostitute to be found. The victim headed back to the void deck, but Subramaniam was no longer there.

Aggrieved, the victim hatched a plan to catch Subramaniam. He texted the latter using a different mobile number, and sent a photo of his friend whom he had roped in to help catch the conman.

Two days later, Thanabalan went to hang out at Subramaniam’s home. Sometime between 4.30pm and 5pm, Subramaniam told Thanabalan that someone would be going to the Lompang Road void deck to pay $250 for sex.

They both knew this was a sex scam, and that there was no woman involved in the arrangement. Thanabalan agreed to be part of the conspiracy, for which he would be paid between $70 and $80.

Sometime between 630pm and 7pm, the second victim and his friend went to the Lompang Road void deck. The victim, anticipating that Subramanian would turn up, hid behind a staircase and waited to ambush him.

However, it was Thanabalan who turned up. He introduced himself as “Joshua” and said he was an agent to a female prostitute.

The second victim then came out of hiding, and together with his friend, prevented Thanabalan from leaving. Thanabalan messaged Subramaniam via WhatsApp, and then spoke to him over the phone.

In order to create the impression that he was innocent, Thanabalan then called the police.

The punishment for cheating and thereby dishonestly inducing the delivery of property is up to 10 years’ jail and a fine.

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