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Gang jailed for using forged cardsPublished: Saturday, 25 November, 2006, 11:30 AM Doha Time
SINGAPORE: Six Sri Lankans were jailed for using forged cards at bank machines in Singapore to steal from British bank accounts, the second such case in two months, news reports said yesterday.
They were nabbed on the fourth day of their crime spree with more than S$350,000, according to The Straits Times.
The sentences imposed on them ranged between four years and six months to 10 years and six months, with the longest going to ex-bank manager Arampramoorthy Ramanan, the 26-year-old 'tech guy' of the gang.
The court heard how the men, all British residents, entered the city-state as tourists in May, carrying with them blank white cards with magnetic strips and a laptop holding encrypted data of British bank account holders.
Holed up in a hotel, they planned to embark on a cash withdrawal spree and leave Singapore within the 14 days allowed by their social visit pass, the report said.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Paul Chia described how the six systematically raided the United Overseas Bank (UOB) ATMs at shopping centres and Changi Airport.
The game was up when one of them was spotted by an ATM technician retrieving the white card.
Because banks have payment systems allowing inter-bank transfers, money they withdrew from UOB would be reimbursed by the account holders? bank in Britain, he said.
It was the second time that such an operation was employed in Singapore. A Sri Lankan-born man based in London used forged cards in September to make similar ATM withdrawals. Navaseelan Balasingam was sentenced to seven years and six months in jail.
The six pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiracy to steal and access a computer.
Unemployed Nishanthan Ramachandran, 29, and storekeeper Amirthyalingam Pukalenthy, 28, described as core members along with Ramanan, were each jailed for nine-and a-half years.
Nishanthan?s younger brother, Nimalan, 25, was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Cab driver Paarthipan Nadarajah was jailed for six years and three months, while sales assistant Prathees Kumar Ratnaval, 26, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years. ? DPA |
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