Man used stolen credit card info to buy $4.5k worth of items like cookbooks, jigsaw puzzles

Nadine Chua
The Straits Times
Oct 7, 2022

Bored while he was quarantined in a hotel in 2020, a man researched on how to scam others, and came across the idea of using stolen credit card details to carry out fraudulent transactions.

He sat on the idea and, between 2021 and 2022, used stolen credit card details to purchase an air purifier, jigsaw puzzles and cookbooks, among other things.

Dominic Han Shunguang, 39, was sentenced to 10 weeks' jail on Friday after pleading guilty to three counts of cheating.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin said that in December 2020, Han had returned to Singapore and was serving his quarantine in a hotel. Court documents did not state where the Singaporean had travelled to.

In October 2021, Han began sourcing for stolen credit card information online. He then obtained multiple stolen credit card details from an unknown individual known only as "Yi San" on messaging platform Telegram.

Using these details, Han made multiple transactions on two companies' online platforms, one of them being Popular Bookstore. He did so between October 2021 and March 2022.

He bought an air purifier, multiple cookbooks and several power banks, among other items. He also bought several jigsaw puzzles, including a lavender-scented one.

The total value of the goods involved was $4,505.09, said DPP Bin.

In March, Popular made a police report saying that it has been informed by a bank that some orders placed with it came from unauthorised credit card transactions.

Han was arrested on March 23.

He initially denied committing the offences, claiming that he was assisting a friend to collect the items, said DPP Bin.

He subsequently confessed to the offences and made full restitution to both companies.

In his submissions, DPP Bin said Han used the stolen credit card details to buy these items not because he needed them, but because he was bored. He also noted that the incident was not one-off and Han had done so on several occasions.

Han, who was unrepresented, acknowledged in his mitigation that he made a mistake and said he was ready to serve his sentence.

For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, or fined, or both.