All that glitters in not gold — three men were arrested on Nov. 25 for trying to sell fake ancient gold ingots they claimed to have found.
Two of the suspects had approached a potential buyer with the claim that they uncovered the gold ingots while excavating, and offered to sell them at attractive prices. They even produced a document in old Chinese writings to make it all seem more authentic, and even brought out a piece of gold ingot for the buyer to validate its quality with goldsmiths.
The ‘treasure finders’ soon left, but not before negotiating the price. Eventually, the buyer made a police report after much consideration; the deal was just too good to be true.
Officers from the Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre Crime Strike Force conducted extensive follow up enquiries and investigation into the case before setting up an ambush operation that nabbed the two conmen and another accomplice no the same day the report was received. Over 200 pieces of mini gold-coloured ingots, a piece of paper with Chinese writings and six yellow gold-coloured mini Buddha statues were seized.
The suspects will be charged in court today for the offence of Attempted Cheating, punishable with imprisonment of up to 10 years and fine.
Photo: Singapore Police Force Facebook page
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