Sporting event job scam leaves at least 50 victims S$35 poorer
A crowd gathered at Carpenter Street for a few hours, seeking compensation for an alleged scam. Photo: Jaslin Goh
SINGAPORE — The return of the SEA Games to Singapore for the first time in two decades is a big occasion for many Singaporeans. But for one group of people, the hope of being involved has gotten them embroiled in an alleged scam.
They were recruited as towel and laundry attendants, and asked to pay a fee of S$35 for registration and a set of uniforms. But once the money was transferred, the recruiter, whom they know as Karim, vanished.
A police report has been lodged and the authorities said investigations are being conducted.
So far, about 50 individuals have come forward to say they were victims of the alleged scam.
Karim, said to be in his late 20s or early 30s, had approached several acquaintances and got them to rope in their family members and friends. He had promised to pay them S$900 for one week’s work. Training was to be conducted over three days at the New Bridge Road office of recruitment agency TCC Manpower, with the first training session scheduled from 9am to 5pm yesterday.
At about 9.15am, those who had signed up for the job had all gathered outside the office, but Karim was nowhere to be seen.
“He said he was on the way, but later, at 10am, he turned off his phone,” said Ms Nelly Riana, 28. Her younger brother, who knew Karim from previous contract jobs, had introduced the job to her.
“He told us to be on time; otherwise, our salary would be deducted,” she added.
Ms Riana, a barista, said Karim had asked them what their favourite sport was, so he could assign them to it.
TCC staff members told the crowd it had no employee named Karim and that the agency did not recruit any people for the Games.
“We ran his name and phone number through our database, but there’s no such person,” Mr Jumat Tawil, a recruitment and resource manager at TCC Manpower, told TODAY. “All our recruitment agents are licensed, and they carry photo identification.”
He added that this was the first time his company had received complaints of impersonation of its staff.
Responding to queries from TODAY, a Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) spokesman said it was not recruiting any workers for laundry services or towel duties. “There are no such positions available,” he said. VALERIE KOH
