Overview
- A 45-year-old woman and her child were restrained and locked on a Marina Bay Sands hotel room balcony and suffered minor injuries after a planned cash-for-currency meeting turned violent.
- Police said the victim had arranged an off-platform currency exchange through a messaging app and brought about S$50,000 to the meeting location on Monday.
- Officers identified three Chinese nationals within hours, located them at Changi Airport as they boarded a Shanghai-bound flight, recalled the aircraft to the gate and arrested the men.
- About S$50,000 in cash was recovered and seized, and the three men, aged 29 to 34, are expected to face robbery-with-hurt charges that carry prison and caning penalties if convicted.
- The Singapore Police Force urged the public to note offenders’ features, contact police promptly and avoid unlicensed online currency-exchange offers by using licensed money changers for transactions.