Jeweler fined S$35,000 for failing to conduct customer due diligence in first such case

UNSPECIFIED CUSTOMERS BUY GOLD

On September 15, 2023, an old woman wearing a face mask visited Kim Heng and said that she wanted to buy 200 to 300 grams of gold on behalf of her son.

An employee named Ms. Kang Yit Hooi showed her several pieces of gold jewelry. It was claimed that the woman took photos of the jewelry and sent them to her son by phone.

The woman then told Ms Kang that she wanted to buy a gold rope chain worth S$28,000 and would make the payment via PayNow.

When Ms. Kang processed the payment, she discovered that the payer was an entity with a unique entity number called Globe Eximport.

Mr Tan told the court that it was actually a compromised corporate account.

He said that although the customer and the person who allegedly instructed the customer to buy gold were both natural persons, Ms. Kang was suspected of money laundering, given the large transaction amount and the corporate identity of the payer.

However, Ms. Kang did not perform the required customer due diligence.

The next day, the old woman’s so-called son contacted Ms. Kang via WhatsApp and said he wanted to buy more gold.

When Ms. Kang said that she was not working and her colleagues might not be able to take care of her, he insisted that she had to buy gold that day and that her so-called mother would pick up the purchases.

Ms. Kang referred customers to her colleague, Ms. Sheila Lo Mohd Miza.

The old woman returned to the store later the same day and Ms. Lo showed her several pieces of jewelry. She purchased six gold chains and a gold necklace worth S$173,295.

Mr Tan said when the woman paid via PayNow, Ms Lo realized the payer was Globe Eximport and suspected money laundering.

“At the time (Ms Lo’s) concern was to ensure that the transaction went through and that the defendant was not deceived.

“(Ms. Kang) also did not ask any questions for fear of being scolded by (the two customers) and losing their business,” the prosecutor said.

On October 2, 2023, the alleged son contacted Ms Kang again to purchase a gold bar and a gold chain valued at S$112,332.

While Ms. Kang was processing the transaction, the man repeatedly pestered her to process payments faster. Once again, he failed to perform due diligence checks.

The man contacted Ms. Kang once again on October 3, 2023 to purchase more gold, and her alleged mother went to the shop again to collect the gold they had purchased.

But this time, Mr. Ho decided to ask the old woman for her ID card. The woman left the store without returning, saying she needed to use the restroom.

The identities of the old woman and the man alleged to be the mother and son have not yet been determined.

The issue came to light after reports of malware scams were made available.