Singapore: An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to 23 months in prison on charges of cheating a woman, he met on an online marketplace, by offering to sell a PlayStation 4 (PS4) and games.
Thevendran Elan Goven (31), is accused of swindling the woman of more than Rs 1.6 crore (SGD 268,000) over several months, as reported by News18.
Goven was convicted on Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of cheating, with two other similar charges taken into consideration, The Straits Times has reported.
He continued to deceive the victim even after exhausting all her funds, prosecutors told the court.
The case began in July 2021, when Goven posted an advertisement on Carousell offering to sell a PS4. The woman was 25 years old at that time.
After she expressed interest, Goven told her that she would receive the console within a week if she paid a deposit of SGD 150, with the balance payable upon delivery. The victim transferred the deposit on July 24, 2021.
Their conversations later moved from Carousell to WhatsApp, where Goven asked her to pay the remaining amount for the console, despite not delivering it, and an additional sum for PS4 games.
She complied, transferring SGD 199, but never received the items.
Over time, Goven built, what the victim believed was a friendship, communicating frequently through messages and calls.
He exploited this trust between August and December 2021, cheating her on 48 occasions and extracting more than SGD 246,000.
It was submitted in court that he fabricated multiple reasons to seek money, claiming he needed funds for a court case, dental treatment, supplier payments and even veterinary care for a sick dog.
The money was instead used for his personal expenses and to clear gambling debts, prosecutors said.
Goven had become aware by August 2021 that the victim had received insurance and central provident fund payouts following her mother’s death.
He continued to pressure and deceive her into transferring funds, despite being told that she had no money left.
It was the victim’s father who first came to know of unexplained withdrawals from his bank account and alerted the police.
During hearing, the prosecution noted that Goven had made partial restitution, repaying SGD 24,000 in July 2024 and another SGD 80,000 in June 2025.
District judge Janet Wang, highlighted the severe financial loss and psychological trauma suffered by the victim, while delivering the sentence.
