Singaporean couple lose over $500,000 in alleged stock investment scam
They had borrowed $550,000 via mainly bank loans.
A Singaporean couple has suffered over $500,000 in losses after they invested $650,000 in stocks of a Hong Kong-listed company that subsequently saw its value plummet. The couple believes they are victims of a "pump and dump" scam, and reported the matter to the Singapore police in early August. The company, CMBC Capital Holdings, claims its name may have been misused in relation to suspected investment scams and has reported the matter to Hong Kong police and regulators.
The company emphasized that it has no involvement in any suspected activities and advised investors to exercise caution. The Singaporean couple, a homemaker and a sports coach both in their 40s, invested $100,000 in life savings and $550,000 in bank loans. They joined a Facebook group offering a free five-month trial to learn trading and were approached by a purported professor named "Chen Kah Ming" who claimed to have previously worked at institutional investor firms.
The wife initially was cautious, but after seeing the stock increase in value, she and her husband invested $100,000 in the company's shares. When the stock price began to decline, "Chen" and "Ella" continued to urge the couple to hold on, even blaming the investors for the volatility. The stock is now trading at HK$0.68 as of Sept 2, and the couple believes they have fallen victim to a pump-and-dump scam.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
