Deepak Singh, who was sentenced on Monday, had purchased the watch, a Rolex GMT Saru, for 55,000 euros (US$64,600) from an acquaintance in early 2025.
The 24-year-old Italian man believed he could make a profit as the model was rare, supposedly with only about 20 authentic pieces in circulation, and could be worth around 90,000 euros in the resale market, according to Mothership.
He later brought the watch to a shop for verification, where he was told its serial number might have been laser-engraved. This led him to believe the timepiece was fake.
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Singh’s Rolex watch. Photo from Singapore Police Force’s website |
Singh traveled to Singapore last November and took the watch, along with its warranty card, to The Watch Room, located in a mall on Bencoolen Street.
The shop’s director, who believed the watch to be worth about S$120,000, expressed interest in buying it from Singh, and they settled on a price of S$94,700.
Rather than taking cash, Singh opted to take three other watches instead: a S$25,200 Rolex Daytona, a S$25,400 Rolex GMT and a S$44,000 Rolex Submariner, according to Channel News Asia.
The director examined the watch and agreed to the exchange. Singh was also given an additional S$300.
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The three Rolex watches that Singh received from the shop. Photo from Singapore Police Force’s website |
Invoices were issued for the transaction and Singh provided the shop director with a forged soft copy of his passport for registration, having altered his photo, name and passport number on the document.
He had done so to avoid criminal liability and any taxes that could arise from the sale.
After the transaction, the shop director carried out further checks and found that the watch’s serial number had been washed off and later laser-engraved, leading him to also believe it was fake.
He made several phone calls to Singh, who eventually picked up and said he would return to the shop.
However, Singh instead booked a flight to Italy and was arrested at Changi Airport on the night of Nov. 28, 2025.
In a twist, the Rolex watch was later confirmed to be genuine. Police subsequently sent it to the Rolex Service Centre, where a technician verified that all its parts were authentic and original.
For attempting to cheat, Singh could have faced a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both.
Prosecutors had pushed for a 12-month sentence, arguing that though no actual loss was incurred, the item involved was of high value and Singh had carried out his attempt to cheat the victim to completion, then booked the first available flight out of Singapore to evade arrest.
His lawyers, meanwhile, sought a six-month term, describing the case as “a single, unsophisticated, immediately detected attempted transaction with no actual loss suffered,” as quoted by The Straits Times.
