Singapore, Jul 20 (PTI) A sergeant with the Gurkha Contingent of the Singapore Police Force was on Wednesday sentenced to 10 years in prison for misappropriating SGD 5.4 million from members of his community and using it to indulge in placing bets on gambling sites, which prosecutors say is one of the most heinous scams perpetrated in recent history in the affluent city-state.
Bikash Gurung, 36, has told his 196 victims that he could remit monies to Nepal at favourable exchange rates.
But he only sent around SGD 211,000 back to their home country.
The bets, which included winnings he might have rolled over, totalled nearly SGD 40.8 million — the largest amount to date linked to unlawful gambling activities, according to the Straits Times newspaper.
In their submissions, deputy public prosecutors Jeremy Bin and Cheng You Duen described the case as one of the most heinous scams perpetrated in recent history in Singapore, the report said.
Gurung, who was suspended from service since September 24, 2018, took between SGD 2,000 and SGD 240,000 from each victim, it said.
“These monies were absolutely necessary to provide basic necessities such as healthcare, education, food and shelter for the victims’ families in Nepal. Their lives, and the lives of their families for generations to come, have been irrevocably damaged by virtue of the accused’s offences,” the prosecution was quoted as saying in the report.
On Wednesday, Gurung was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 25 counts of criminal breach of trust and nine charges involving unlawful gambling activities.
Another 188 charges were considered during sentencing, the report said.
Gurung was known among his friends in the Gurkha Contingent as someone who could reliably remit monies to Nepal at favourable rates.
In 2016, he incurred significant losses from gambling heavily on football matches, according to the Singapore daily.
To fund his gambling habit, he leveraged on his reputation in remitting money.
He said he would accept Singapore dollars from his customers and use the cash to buy goods which would then be transported to Nepal.
Gurung claimed the goods would be sold by businesses there at higher prices and the proceeds would be transferred to his customers’ families.
“When the monies were not remitted within the timeframe promised by the accused, some of the victims questioned him.
“To avoid arousing the victims’ suspicion for the delay, and to convince future victims that his scheme was legitimate, the accused remitted portions of the money owed to these victims,” the prosecution said.
The largest sum of SGD240,000 came from a retired officer who had entrusted the amount to Gurung between December 2017 and April 2018.
The victim had intended to give SGD58,000 to his family for their living expenses and invest the rest in a project in Nepal.
When the monies were not delivered, the victim contacted Gurung, who blamed it on delays in shipment.
Another victim took a loan of SGD50,000 against his future income to help his sick mother back home.
He transferred the whole amount to Bikash on April 9, 2018, but after three months, approached the disgraced officer who said he had used the money to buy expensive watches to be sent to Nepal.
Between Dec 18, 2017 and June 30, 2018, Bikash used the money entrusted to him on an unlawful remote gambling service using two different accounts.
His offences came to light when an operations manager from the contingent reported to the police in September 2018, it added.
The Gurkha Contingent is a line department of the Singapore Police Force consisting primarily of Gurkhas from Nepal, recruited by the British Army with the purview of the Government of Singapore. PTI GS VM VM
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