SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old Indian-origin man in Singapore was sentenced to 21 months' probation and his parents were bonded for 5,000 dollars to ensure his good behaviour after he was found guilty of receiving ill-gotten gains of another person.
Kshan Pillai Ganesan Pillai had agreed to assist an alleged accomplice in obtaining a bank account to receive 10,000 Singapore dollars (USD 7,388) in ill-gotten gains, The Straits Times newspaper reported.
He had also recruited another friend Rufus Rakesh Kumar Kalaiselvan, who is now 19.
As part of his probation, Pillai must remain indoors from 10 PM to 6 AM every day and perform 60 hours of community service.
Last month, Pillai pleaded guilty to one count each of dealing with the benefits of criminal conduct and instructing a man known as Emmanuel Raymond to give false information to a public servant.
Rufus pleaded guilty on September 17 to one count of criminal breach of trust and will be sentenced on October 25.
Emmanuel, 19, pleaded guilty in April to giving false information to a public servant.
He was later sentenced to nine months' probation.
Cases of two others involved in the scam, Ravivarthan, 20, and Mahendra Sakkaravarthi Samraj Ahsockan, 34, are pending.
The court heard that a 77-year-old man, whose name has been redacted from court documents, had earlier received a phone call from an unknown scammer.
After giving the scammer his bank card details and a one-time password, the senior citizen found that someone had made 15 unauthorised transactions on the card, leading to a total loss of 35,350 dollars (USD 26,119).
The authorities later traced the transactions to Pillai, Rufus, Emmanuel, Ravivarthan and Mahendra.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En said that in July last year, Mahendra asked Pillai if the younger man could help him procure a bank account to receive 10,000 dollars (USD 7,388).
Pillai was also offered a "commission" of about 2,000 (USD 1,477).
Despite knowing that the monies were unlawfully obtained, Pillai approached Rufus and asked for the teenager's help to funnel the cash back to them.