A woman who meticulously crafted a scam using fake PayNow screenshots to obtain food and services from multiple establishments has been sentenced to one year and 11 months’ jail. Filipino national Santos-Tumalip Maria Monalyn Bagaporo, aged 33, pleaded guilty on November 13 to four charges, including cheating and theft, with three other charges taken into consideration. The total value of the food and services she obtained fraudulently exceeded $10,000.
The court documents detailed a pattern of deception that involved Bagaporo placing orders and then transferring the payment amount to her own bank account, rather than the merchant's. She would then use a photo editing application to alter the resulting transaction screenshot, making it falsely appear as if the money had been successfully sent to the restaurant or salon. In some cases, she even edited the sender details to make it look like the payments originated from different accounts.
1. House of Seafood (May 2022 – August 2023)
Method: Bagaporo placed orders via the restaurant’s website and selected PayNow. She transferred the money to herself and edited the screenshot.
Deception: The restaurant manager, relying only on the screenshot's payment amount and date, failed to cross-check bank records.
Scale: Bagaporo successfully executed this scheme 35 times, cheating the Joo Chiat restaurant of $3,891.75.
Motive: Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jing Min stated the motive was to "order food for her friends and impress them."
Discovery: The offenses were only discovered on September 2, 2023, when the manager reviewed the business's bank statements. Bagaporo has since made full restitution to House of Seafood.
2. Baci Baci (June 2024 – May 2025)
Method: Bagaporo used the same modus operandi at the Italian restaurant located in Serangoon Garden.
Scale: She made 24 separate food orders over this period, worth a total of $6,167.52.
Restitution: The court heard that she has not made restitution to Baci Baci.
3. Johwa Hair & Living (2025)
Method: Bagaporo purchased a hair treatment voucher, valued at $381.50, using a doctored PayNow screenshot.
Discovery: On June 8, when she tried to purchase a second voucher, the salon director realized the payment for the first voucher had not been received.
Result: Despite repeated reminders, Bagaporo gave excuses for non-payment, leading the salon director to lodge a police report in July.
Theft Offence
Separately, on November 27, 2024, Bagaporo committed theft at the Giant supermarket at Block 348 Bedok Road.
Method: She paid for five low-value items at a self-service kiosk but entered the store with a trolley bag and two tote bags, which she used to conceal 31 items—including snacks, meat, vegetables, and personal care items—worth $738.76.
Arrest: A supermarket staff member noticed her suspicious behavior, stopped her, and found the stolen items inside her bags.
The prosecution sought a jail sentence of between 23½ months and 27 months, citing her "flagrant and recalcitrant offending behaviour." For cheating, an offender faces up to 10 years' jail, a fine, or both, while theft carries a maximum of seven years' jail and a fine.
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