SINGAPORE – A man was sentenced to 3½ years and four weeks’ jail on Jan 27 after he
misappropriated around $470,000 from more than 200 people
who had signed up for an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.
The customers received no updates on arrangements for the pilgrimage, also known as umrah, and found out in November 2015 that it would not take place in December of that year.
Following a trial, Suwandi Marchuke, 58, was convicted in July 2025 of one count each of criminal breach of trust and acting as a manager of Bil Hikmah Consultants from around September 2014 to March 2016 while he was a declared bankrupt.
District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan also found him guilty of five counts of intentionally aiding the company to…