Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor

A Singapore man has received a sobering sentence for his involvement in the theft of S$365,000 (US$267,097) in cash meant for a bitcoin purchase.

• As reported by The Strait Times on Friday, Jaromel Gee Ming Li, 29, was sentenced to three years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane on Thursday.
• Gee pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a conspiracy to commit robbery with the aid of two other men, Mohd Abdul Rahman and Syed Mokhtar, both 39 years of age.
• According to the report, Gee was engaged in bitcoin brokerage and organized transactions between parties seeking to buy and sell bitcoin.
• Gee solicited Abdul Rahman to assist him with transactions that generally involved potential buyers of bitcoin for larger sums of cash, but in April 2018 they reportedly switched tactics to rob prospective buyers.
• Hearing that Pang Joon Hau, a Malaysian man, had arrived in Singapore for a bitcoin purchase with the S$365,000 in cash, Gee directed Abdul Rahman and Mokhtar to locate the investor in his hotel and rob him on April 8.
• Abdul Rahman and Mokhtar proceeded to physically assault Pang and another bitcoin investor, Teo Chern Wei, in their hotel room before running off with a backpack containing Pang's cash.
• Gee was arrested on April 18, 2018. It is unclear how authorities discovered Gee's involvement in the robbery.
• Abdul Rahman was arrested days after the attack and his case is still pending; Mokhtar pleaded guilty to a robbery charge on Wednesday, The Straights Times reported.
• Rahman's ex-wife, Yogeshwry Raman, was also in court Thursday facing charges she'd received stolen goods such as a S$45,800 (US$33,000) Rolex watch bought with proceeds from the robbery.
• In Singapore, those convicted of committing robbery between 19:00 and 07:00 local time can be jailed for up to 14 years and receive at least 12 strokes of the cane.

See also: Singapore Man Fined $72K for Promoting Crypto Ponzi OneCoin