SINGAPORE – A married couple, Felicia Tay Bee Ling and Eric Ong Chee Wei, have pleaded guilty to cheating a man out of $220,000 in a fraudulent property investment scheme. The twist? The victim, David Tan, was having an extramarital affair with Tay at the time of the scam.
On June 24, both Tay, 49, and Ong, 50, admitted in court to a single charge of cheating. Ong has since repaid $10,000 to the victim. Court documents did not clarify whether the couple remain married.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Kiera Yu, Tay, a housewife, and Ong, a former property agent turned odd-job worker, concocted the scam together in 2015. The couple falsely promised Tan, 48, that he could profit from investing in seven discounted condominium units at Residences @ Emerald Hill.
Tan, who had been romantically involved with Tay since 2014, was led to believe the units were developer clear-outs, accessible through Ong’s supposed connections in the real estate industry.
In reality, six of the units did not exist, and the seventh was not for sale. Ong provided fake Option to Purchase (OTP) forms, fraudulently using the name of an unwitting real estate salesperson.
Tay delivered these documents to Tan and collected $220,000 in cash over several meetings, promising that he’d earn $1.7 million in returns within three months. She urged Tan to keep the “exclusive offers” a secret.
When Tan didn’t receive any returns by January 2016, he confronted Tay. To maintain the illusion, she presented him with a falsified IOU document, co-signed by Ong, claiming the money would be returned.
Tan and Tay ended their relationship in March 2017. Only in December 2019 did Tan verify with property firm OrangeTee that the deals were fake. A police report followed, and the couple were arrested in June 2022.
Tay and Ong will be sentenced in July. The case highlights the dangers of emotional manipulation paired with financial fraud.
