Taiwanese actress Deborah Tsai duped into paying $93 for free SG Arrival Card

Lim Ruey Yan
The Straits Times
Apr 18, 2023

Taiwanese host-actress Deborah Tsai Yi-chen came across a website recently which charged a fee of US$70 (S$93) for a form required for entry into Singapore.

In a post on Instagram Stories on Monday, the 35-year-old wrote in Chinese: “I filled up an electronic version of the SG Arrival Card, which turned out to be fake. The website looked similar, and as this was the first time I was going to Singapore, I did not know that submission is free.”

Best known for her role as student Wuxiong in the Taiwanese idol drama KO One (2005 to 2006), Tsai said the website did not state how much the submission fee was, and that there was no pop-up notice when she used her credit card.

“I called the bank and realised I had been charged US$70,” she wrote. “I immediately reported the card as missing as I was afraid it could be misused.”

Tsai said in a Facebook post early on Tuesday that the bank is investigating the matter and has frozen that transaction.

She added that she can no longer access that website. She included in her post the official Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) website, where travellers to Singapore can submit their SG Arrival Card.

The ICA previously told The Straits Times: “The submission is free of charge and takes approximately three to 10 minutes. There is thus no need to seek professional assistance to fill in the SG Arrival Card.”

It added that it was aware of websites advertising these services for a fee. It does not support or endorse these services and is not affiliated with them.