KEY POINTS:
A judge has refused to accept that a Singaporean couple who committed credit card frauds worth $66,700 in New Zealand were "mere pawns' in a sophisticated crime scheme.
Instead, Judge Colin Doherty said the couple were "practiced and professional" as they went about their business.
"You have expressed remorse but that has to be tempered with my view that this is your occupation. You were in this for a profit and I don't accept that you were just mere mules or workers in this operation. I think this was a professional job."
He jailed Suliaman Bin Haron, 50, and his wife Saerah Binte Men, 49, for two years two months each on 63 charges of credit card fraud and conspiracy, Christchurch Court News website reported.
The judge noted concerns that arose from the case that New Zealand was seen as "a soft touch" for fraudsters because it did not yet have the more secure microchipped cards and readers.
The fraud scheme used 54 cards as well as other false identity documents and the couple were found with 22 cards when they were arrested on their arrival in Christchurch. They had already spent about two weeks in New Zealand hitting businesses in Auckland and Queenstown.
Defence counsel Christopher Persson said the couple had been told which shops to go to, and what to buy. They had not selected the victims themselves.
They were not the "masterminds". He likened them to servants or foot soldiers. It was a professional and sophisticated scheme, but all the travel and accommodation had been organised by others.
"Right through the whole process they were controlled by others. They did the donkey work." They felt they were trapped in New Zealand and unable to leave.
They believed they had been flown to New Zealand to carry out a "personal service" - buying items for a wealthy Singaporean.
Prison would be difficult for them because they were so far from home. They were both Moslems and had had to adjust to life on remand in prison. They had to skip meals and parts of meals because of their religious beliefs.
But crown prosecutor Tim Mackenzie said it was not credible and the crown was sceptical of their account of the trip.
They said they had accepted the trip from people they barely knew. "It is inexplicable that through mysterious meetings and phone calls, they would travel to New Zealand to commit these acts."
Haron is said to be a former police officer who has gone on to work in the security industry. Men is a housewife. Their address is given as 022404 Angmokio Avenue, Singapore, and Mr Persson said they had grown-up children and grandchildren.
Judge Doherty said they had not only obtained $66,700 in goods - which had not been recovered - but they had tried a further $100,000 worth of transaction which had been declined. Some of those had then succeeded when they used other cards.
Their behaviour had been practiced and professional rather than the "quick acting study" which they claimed they had been given by the people who had used them.
"I think you were carrying out this activity in a premeditated away. It was systematic and sustained. You knew exactly what you were doing in the shops. It was brazen, practised, professional and cunning."
The couple said they had come to New Zealand after being offered the trip by an illegal bookmaker that Haron knew only as Roger.
Neither Haron nor Men have previous convictions.
Mr Persson opposed the crown seizing money they had on them when arrested, because he said it was not their money. They had been given it by relatives in Singapore to buy items for them.
Judge Doherty questioned why they had not used the money to get tickets and fly home when they felt trapped in New Zealand.
- NZPA
