My Digital Lock's ex-worker jailed for cheating customers of over $24k

SINGAPORE – While he was working at My Digital Lock, a man duped some customers into transferring money to him instead of into the company's bank account.

On Tuesday (Dec 13), Travis Ow Jin Yuan, 23, was sentenced to 15 months' jail for committing criminal breach of trust as an employee and other offences such as voluntarily causing hurt. 

In total, he duped customers into transferring $24,569 to him via bank transfer and in cash.

The Straits Times previously reported that in January, he deceived a female customer into thinking she was paying My Digital Lock, a firm that sells digital locks and other items. 

The woman transferred $6,153 to the bank account Ow provided, believing that she was paying for a mattress, a bed frame, pillows and a digital lock.

But, according to the firm's founder Ronn Teo, Ow had provided his personal PayNow account for customers to make payments to after changing its name to "My Digital Lock Pte Ltd".

On Tuesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Mathias Tan said Ow used the money he got from the customers for his personal expenses. 

In March, Mr Teo and at least one My Digital Lock customer made a police report against Ow, claiming he had misappropriated funds belonging to customers. 

Ow was arrested on April 1 and taken into remand. 

Other offences he was convicted of include voluntarily causing hurt to four people in August 2019 and being a member of an unlawful society. 

His lawyer, Mr Anil Singh from Kertar & Sandhu, said: "He foolishly committed (the offences) so he can provide for his infant daughter, who was born out of wedlock. He is truly apologetic to the victims and has learnt a bitter lesson. He promises to no longer be on the wrong side of the law." 

Those who commit criminal breach of trust as an employee can be jailed for up to 15 years and fined, while those found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt can be jailed for up to three years, fined up to $5,000, or both.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.