Another Korean  

💻 A S’porean man, 29, who was involved in a scheme exploiting a PayPal glitch to obtain free laptops, later filed a police report out of guilt.   He was given a 14-day short detention order.   ➡️ https://bit.ly/3QWUD8k   Follow us @mothershipsg   Here are the details regarding the court case involving the 29-year-old Singaporean man who exploited a PayPal glitch: ### The Offender and the Sentence    * **Who:** **Jonathan Wee Jianwei**, 29. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to deceive Lenovo, with two other charges taken into consideration.    * **The Sentence:** He was handed a **14-day Short Detention Order (SDO)** and ordered to complete **70 hours of community service** within a year.    * **No Criminal Record:** An SDO is a community-based sentence that allows an offender to experience the reality of prison life as a deterrent but does **not** result in a permanent criminal record.   ### How the Scheme Worked  * **The Glitch:** The fraud was masterminded in late 2019 by 31-year-old Calvin Fong Jun Jie. Fong discovered a glitch in PayPal's system where payment for a laptop would be deducted from a bank account, but then automatically credited back shortly after delivery.    * **The Operation:** Participants linked their bank accounts to PayPal but left a minimal balance (around $100). Fong would then transfer funds to them, remotely control their laptops using software to place the orders, collect the delivered tech devices, and pay the participants a 40% "commission."    * **Wee's Involvement:** Wee was roped into the scheme in February 2020 by an army buddy, Alden Low Yoong Theng. Wee ordered two Microsoft laptops worth over $3,900 for himself and received a $670 commission for a separate order of Lenovo laptops. Driven by a $100 referral bonus, he also recruited four friends, leading to the fraudulent delivery of laptops worth more than $32,000.   ### The False Report and Subsequent Guilt    * **The Lie:** In May 2020, PayPal asked Wee to file a police report to process a refund related to his transaction. At the time, Wee lied in an e-report, claiming two laptops were missing from his delivery package.    * **The Confession:** By February 2021, overcome by guilt, Wee went back to the police and filed a genuine report, entirely incriminating himself and laying out his true role in the scam.   ### Why the Case Was Deemed "Exceptional"   The prosecution highlighted that Wee’s case was incredibly rare for a few key reasons:    1. **Voluntary Self-Incrimination:** Deputy Public Prosecutor Adelle Tai noted that if Wee hadn't come forward out of guilt, the crime likely would never have come to light.    2. **Full Restitution:** Wee did not just pay back what he stole; he took full responsibility for the friends he recruited. In total, Wee paid out **approximately $20,000** to Lenovo and Microsoft, ensuring neither tech company suffered any ultimate financial loss.    3. **Prosecution Delay:** There was a five-year delay in bringing the case to court that was not Wee's fault.   *Note on the other co-conspirators: His friend Alden Low has already pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, while the mastermind, Calvin Fong, is expected to plead guilty next month.*