SINGAPORE — A 44-year-old Malaysian man was arrested in Singapore after trying to cash a forged cheque worth S$180,000 (about RM590,000), in a case tied to an overseas scam syndicate, Mothership reported.

Singapore police said the suspect was detained on Saturday after staff at a United Overseas Bank (UOB) branch flagged his withdrawal request as suspicious.

Investigations revealed he had been recruited days earlier by a syndicate to encash cheques from a 65-year-old victim who had been duped into believing she was under probe for money laundering. 

The woman had earlier transferred nearly S$40,000 to an unknown account and handed over five pre-signed cheques to a man posing as an officer.

The Malaysian was arrested within 30 minutes of UOB’s alert and found with the forged cheque and two Malaysian ATM cards.

He will be charged today with abetment by conspiracy to use a forged document, which carries up to 15 years’ jail and a fine. He also faces a separate charge of fraudulent possession.