SINGAPORE: The prosecution on Friday August 19 asked for more time to investigate the couple who were allegedly involved in a multi-million dollar luxury goods scam.
Singaporean Pi Jiapeng, 26, and his wife, 27-year-old Thai national Siriwipa Pansuk, are accused of deceiving Tradenation customers into paying for luxury watches they had no intention of buying deliver.
They are also accused of tricking customers of their other luxury goods company Tradeluxury into buying luxury handbags.
Describing the case as “complex”, the prosecution requested that the couple be remanded to the Central Police Division for an additional week for investigation.
The case involves losses of more than S$20 million and it will take more time to determine where the funds are, the prosecution said.
Pi’s lawyer, Bhargavan Sujatha, and Pansuk’s lawyer, Johannes Hadi, who both appeared to represent their first-time clients, did not object to their being fired again.
The alleged offenses took place between May 28, 2021 and June 27 this year, according to court documents.
Pi and Pansuk had been on the run for about five weeks when they were arrested in Malaysia and handed over to Singapore police on August 11.
When they appeared in court the next day, Assistant District Attorney David Koh described their two charges of cheating as “charges of detention”, adding that the investigations were still in their infancy.
Indeed, the couple fled and it took time to investigate the more than 180 police reports made, he said.
LEAVING SINGAPORE ILLEGALLY
Pi and Pansuk were also charged last week with illegally leaving Singapore via Tuas Checkpoint on July 4.
The couple had fled Singapore by hiding in the container compartment of a truck registered in Malaysia. This was about a month after Pi was arrested in June on suspicion of cheating.
His passport was confiscated and he was released on bail. Pansuk had also handed over his passport to the police and was assisting in the investigations.