The First Prosecution Witness, PW1, Jacob Lilian, in
the trial of Ling Yang (a.k.a Shoa Ming), a Chinese, and part of the
alleged 792-member syndicate of cryptocurrency investment and romance
fraud suspects has narrated before Justice D.I. Dipeolu of Federal
High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos how her job search at
Genting International Co. Limited ended in being lured into dating scam by
the defendant.
Yang alongside Genting International Co.
Limited is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC on a four-count charge, bordering on cybercrime and
advance fee fraud, having been arrested in Lagos by officers of
the Commission in a surprise operation tagged “Eagle
Flush Operation” on December 10, 2024.
One of the charges reads: "That you, LING YANG
A.K.A. SHAO MING, sometime in December 2024 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of
this Honourable Court, with the intent to gain a financial advantage for your
employer fraudulently impersonated one Amity by holding yourself out as
such, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section
22 (2) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act,
2015." He pleaded guilty to all the charges, prompting his trial.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Hanatu U.
KofarNaisa, the witness, a Nigerian identified the defendant as
one of the Chinese that work on the Seventh Floor of the
company's building.
"As at November 2024, I was in search of a job
and so I joined a WhatsApp group called job update, which was where I
got to know about the job that stated customer service and only an address
written as No 7 Oyin Jolayemi Street, Lagos. On getting there I
was not asked to present any CV or documentations, and when I got in, I was
required to sit in front of a computer. I thought I was about to have an
online test, but rather I did a speed limit test that was set to be 30 and I
got 28," she said.
She added that she was encouraged to improve her
speed, and subsequently given a job with the company.
"No credentials were required or asked for and I
was not given any offer letter," she said.
According to her, the company provided accommodation
for her on the Island and she moved in.
She further testified that she was later given a
script to read, adding that she was told that was her job.
"On the script there was a name, Alani Thomas,
and I was asked to read the script further and to get familiar with any
customer assigned to me and chat with them," she said.
Testifying further, she stated that
Europeans were the main targets and that she was usually
introduced as Alani Thomas.
"The WhatsApp group is being monitored by the
employers, and once names are exchanged, and I start to get to know the
customer, by the third day of chatting with the customer, once they are at ease
with me, I will be asked to stop chatting with the customer and then the
employers will take over the chatting," she said.
She disclosed that her monthly salary was
N250,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) and that the Nigerian
employees had seat numbers and computers allocated to them.
She disclosed that she wanted to resign from the
job, but the company had a way of caging them and monitoring their activities.
"We were always escorted by security officials
from the office to the accommodation and we were never allowed to leave the
office premises. Before we start working for the day, we have to submit
our phones.
The EFCC arrest was a saving grace for
me," she said.
Prosecution counsel applied for an
adjournment to enable it to tender the computer with the scripts in
evidence.
Justice Dipeolu adjourned the case till April 11, 2025
for continuation of trial.
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