30 months’ jail for man who cheated a property buyer of $163,000.
A district court sentenced a man to imprisonment for two-and-a-half years on Friday (1 April), after he cheated a property buyer out of $163,000, reported The Straits Times.
70-year-old Dean Edward, a part-time consultant litigation clerk at various law firms, told Ms Fan Por Lian, 59, that he could handle all the necessary documents needed to buy a unit at The Peak in Pasir Panjang in 2013.
As he was an acquaintance of a friend, she took up the offer and was subsequently persuaded to hand him money for the paperwork fees and partial payment for the condominium.
But after he pocketed the cash, she reported him to the police in January 2015. Fan claimed that Edward pretended to be an attorney to convince her that he could do all the paperwork for the property purchase.
The defendant’s lawyer, Louis Joseph, argued that his client did not explicitly state that he was a lawyer.
Joseph also asked for the court’s clemency, as Edward is providing financial support to his family and his partner, a divorcee with two sons. In addition, he suffers from migraine, severe asthma and high blood pressure.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Chew, who countered that Edward’s illnesses and financial situation were immaterial to the case, asked the court for a 34-month sentence.
Although the defendant has admitted to five charges of cheating amounting to $82,800, and 12 similar charges were taken into consideration by the court, the amount he owes Ms Fan has yet to be returned.
Edward was allowed to begin his jail term on 15 April. He could have been put behind bars for up to 10 years, and fined for each cheating charge.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
