Singapore couple who were on the run for 5 weeks appear in court

JOHOR BAHRU: The couple at the centre of an alleged multi-million dollar luxury goods scam in Singapore appeared calm when approached by police officers outside a budget hotel in Johor Bahru, said a receptionist who witnessed the incident.

Singaporean Pi Jiapeng, 26, and his wife, 27-year old Thai national Siriwipa Pansuk, had been on the run for more than five weeks before they were approached by authorities outside BookMe Hotel along Jalan Bestari on Wednesday Aug 10. They have since been handed over to Singapore police and were charged in court on Friday.

Ms Sheila Rozy, one of the receptionists at BookMe hotel on Wednesday, told CNA that the pair had approached the front desk after 10 pm.

We told them our rooms were full for the night, so they left the hotel and stood outside. They appeared calm and did not seem suspicious, said Ms Sheila.

Four or five men approached them while they were waiting outside. They were men in plain clothes who later identified themselves as police officers.

They spoke to the couple for a few minutes. The couple looked calm and did not try to run away. They were then taken into a marked police car and left, said the receptionist.