SINGAPORE – Four men were charged in a cheating case that saw two of them allegedly trying to obtain over $6 million in mortgage loans by using a landed property belonging to a stranger as collateral.
The Straits Times had reported in May about the elaborate ruse.
It involved forged documents, stolen identity and a caveat which was somehow lodged against a property with the Singapore Land Authority without the owner’s knowledge.
Freelance violinist Elgar Kwek, 49, and his mother, who are the owners of the property in Katong, had no plans to sell the home.
His partner had suspected something was amiss when strangers turned up at the home in April for what suspiciously looked like a pre-sale inspection.
The owners of the property have no links to the four charged on Nov 10.
Ernest Fan Zhenhao, 39, is facing six charges in total, comprising two counts of cheating, three counts of using a forged electronic record as genuine and one count of possessing a forged identity card.
Lazarus Ching Fei Fan, 27, is facing two cheating charges, while Terence Tan Jun Ming, 29, was handed one cheating charge.
Andrew Li Xianneng, 36 has been charged with abetting the unlawful issue of an identity card.
Caveat lodged
Kwek had alerted the police in April after he received a letter from the Singapore Land Authority and found that a caveat had been lodged against his property.
A caveat is a legal document obtained by a potential buyer who wants to exercise an option to buy a property.
Kwek, who contacted ST soon after reporting the case to police, said he did not authorise the caveat.
A police investigation showed that Fan had allegedly impersonated Kwek and used forged identity documents to facilitate the loan applications.
According to court documents, he is said to have conspired with one Cozen Nova Khor to use a forged Singpass page over three occasions in 2025.
Fan and Ching also worked with Khor to allegedly try to cheat two companies – VM Capital and Comfort Credit – into granting over $6 million in total in mortgage loans that same year.
Court documents did not disclose details about Khor, who was not charged on Nov 10.
Tan is accused of conspiring with Khor to try cheat VM Capital of $3.3 million in the same ruse.
The court heard that when the firms later sent over letters of offer, Fan allegedly posed as Kwek to sign the documents.
The victim, Mr Elgar Kwek, and his partner, Ms Brenda Chow, at the landed property in Katong that Mr Kwek owns.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
He is said to have a forged identity card, purportedly belonging to Kwek, in March 2026.
The ruse involved the accused taking advantage of Kwek’s work as a violinist and his side business, which sees him renting his property for video and photography shoots.
His home is filled with antiques that he had collected over 15 years that reflect a bygone era in Singapore.
In February and March 2026, Ching allegedly contacted Kwek to purportedly engage him for violin performances.
While the home owner was away, Tan purportedly organised access to the property for valuers to conduct valuations without Kwek’s knowledge.
Tan is also said to have facilitated the handover of a title deed between two law firms.
Forged NRIC
Li is said to have assisted in forging an identity card that was later used to facilitate the ruse.
Court documents showed that he allegedly conspired with Khor and one Joydep to unlawfully issue an identity card in February 2026.
Li is also accused of directing Joydep to issue an identity card purportedly belonging to Kwek between February and April.
Officers from Bedok Police Division arrested all four Singaporean men during a two-day operation in April.
The authorities also seized a forged identity document and mobile phones.
Tan’s pre-trial conference will take place on Nov 19, and the cases involving the three other men have been adjourned to December.
