Indian-origin man jailed for making prank calls to Singapore Police for 18 years, jailed for 3 years
Singapore, Sep 6: An Indian-origin "serial prank caller" in Singapore who repeatedly made nuisance calls to the police, despite being jailed for the same offence previously, was jailed for three years on Thursday.
Gurcharan Singh, a 61-year-old cleaner, usually made the "999" emergency calls after drinking alcohol, the court heard.
The latest incidents occurred over two days in June, with Singh making two calls on the first day and 15 on the second, Channel News Asia reported.
On June 10, Singh called the police using a public phone at a void deck in Chai Chee housing estate. During one such call, he told the operator: "You are stupid."
"I put one dynamite to the immigration house... You are the police emergency ... You should find out everything in the world what's happening ... and question everything ... all you should have find out ... What a f***ed up police emergency you are," Singh told the operator.
He called the emergency hotline a second time later that night, again expressing his unhappiness with the immigration authorities, the report said.
Singh made another 15 calls to the police, all in one day, later that month.
Singh has been a repeat offender since 2000, with the most recent conviction in 2016, when he was sentenced to two years' jail, Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim said.
"His underlying problem is alcohol use disorder," said Lim, adding that any nuisance calls made to the police deprive people in distress of timely police intervention.
The court also ordered Singh to serve an additional enhanced sentence of 66 days for breaching his remission order.
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Two African nationals linked to 12 cyber fraud complaints nationwide held in Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Two African nationals have been arrested over suspected involvement in an international cyber fraud racket that allegedly duped victims across multiple states of more than Rs 50 lakh, police said on Thursday.
The accused allegedly impersonated women on online platforms to befriend Indian victims and build emotional relationships. They would later claim to be travelling to India and fabricate stories about being detained at airports or facing immigration issues, seeking money for clearance and other expenses.
Police said the arrests were made following sustained surveillance, technical analysis and verification of suspicious mule bank accounts linked to multiple complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
According to the police, at least 12 complaints from across states involving defrauded funds exceeding Rs 50 lakh were traced to several bank accounts used by the accused.
"These accounts were opened in different names across various banks and were used to receive money fraudulently obtained from victims," a senior police officer said.
During investigation, six mobile phones and two passports were seized from the accused. Police said the devices contained incriminating chats, details of mule bank accounts and conversations with victims, along with fabricated images related to airports apparently used to mislead targets.
Both accused are also suspected to have links with drug trafficking activities in the Delhi-NCR region and are being probed further, police said, adding that efforts are underway to identify and apprehend other members.
