Overview

• Arivalagan Muthusamy pleaded guilty to 21 counts of cheating and duped 61 contractors between late 2022 and mid-2023 by posing as building management to collect bogus deposits.
• He recruited two accomplices, Thomas Sng Jian Wen and Ahammed Md Riaz, to provide multiple bank accounts for receiving the scam proceeds.
• The 40-year-old has prior convictions for theft, forgery and criminal breach of trust dating back to 2010 and was under a remission order when he carried out the latest offences.
• Deputy Public Prosecutor Maximilian Chew described the scheme as planned and involving a group element, prompting a strong deterrent sentence.
• Arrested on July 4, 2023, Arivalagan has not made any restitution to his victims to date.