A 19-year-old student who impersonated a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) official to assist scammers in defrauding a woman, was sentenced to eight weeks in jail on 18 April. (PHOTO: Getty Images and Reuters/Edgar Su)

SINGAPORE — A 19-year-old student was sentenced to eight weeks' jail on Thursday (18 April) for impersonating a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) official to assist scammers in defrauding a woman.

The Straits Times reported that Li Jiarui, a Chinese national studying computer science at the Singapore Institute of Management, pleaded guilty to two charges. They comprised one count of intentionally aiding unknown people with carrying out a domestic money transfer service, and another count of engaging in a conspiracy to cheat CIMB Bank.

Four similar charges were also taken into consideration during his sentencing.

What was Li's role and involvement in the criminal activities?

The court heard that in October 2022, Li received a call from someone claiming to be from DBS Bank, alleging that his identity had been misused for a credit card application in China. He received another call from fraudsters masquerading as the "Chinese police", informing him of an investigation into money laundering involving him.