Jail for woman who pretended to be lawyer and cheated others of S$62,000

SINGAPORE: A woman claimed to be a lawyer and cheated her acquaintances into giving her more than S$62,000 for "legal services" or jobs at a reputed firm.

Siti Suhailal Halil, 28, was sentenced to two years' jail on Friday (Jan 6).

She pleaded guilty to three charges of cheating, with another three charges taken into consideration.

The court heard that Siti cheated her then-boyfriend's mother, a 52-year-old woman, over almost two years.

She lied to the older woman in December 2017 that she was a lawyer, knowing that the latter needed legal assistance for Central Provident Fund issues and an ongoing divorce.

Siti lied that she would be able to provide legal assistance - despite not being a qualified lawyer - in exchange for certain fees.

Between December 2017 and September 2019, the older woman transferred money to Siti over 126 occasions for "legal services" such as paperwork, court applications and legal consultation arrangements.

Between January 2018 and December 2018, the older woman transferred S$27,980 to Siti's bank account. 

When the older woman confronted Siti for proof of the purported legal services, Siti got her to continue making the transfers by claiming that failure to pay the legal fees would result in a fine or arrest.

Eventually, the older woman confronted Siti in October 2019 and asked for proof that she was a lawyer. When Siti was unable to do so, the victim lodged a police report.

While under investigation, Siti cheated her husband's friend, a 28-year-old man, by claiming she could get him a job at Dentons Rodyk law firm.

Siti claimed she was working there as a lawyer, although she was neither an employee there nor a qualified lawyer.

Siti lied to the victim that he would first have to complete certain legal and management courses with Kaplan Singapore and Exena Learning Hub.

She asked the man for money for course enrolment fees, and he transferred her S$32,460 between December 2021 and March 2022.

The man grew suspicious as he did not receive any invoice or receipt, and contacted the law firm around April 2022. 

He was told that there was no one by the accused's name employed there.

He also contacted Kaplan, who told him there was no record of his enrolment. He later lodged a police report. 

Siti also cheated another victim, a 28-year-old acquaintance, by using the same premise of a job at Dentons Rodyk. 

He transferred her S$1,680 to her bank account in April 2022.

Siti used the money from her crimes on her own expenses and to pay off debts.

She later made restitution of S$1,900 to her ex-boyfriend's mother and S$1,600 to her husband's friend.

SHE WAS UNFAZED: PROSECUTOR

The prosecutor sought 24 months to 28 months' jail, saying that Siti was "unfazed" despite knowing she was being investigated and continued to offend.

She also made only partial restitution, said the prosecutor.

Siti, who was remanded, pleaded for a lighter sentence, saying she has a daughter and "financial shortage".

"I wish for a lighter sentence, I'm really remorseful," she said, adding that she wanted to pay the victims back some money after serving her sentence.

The judge asked if she has been trained as a lawyer, and Siti said she completed a diploma in legal studies at Kaplan.

"One of the principles of sentencing is the offender and his family must face the consequences," said the judge in response.

He added that if any repayment to the victims was to be taken into consideration, it had to be made before the sentence was meted out.