A former Singapore Armed Forces captain was jailed for six years and 10 months after breaking into a man's home, stealing his cryptocurrency wallet seed phrase, and transferring 1.7 million USDT. The victim, a Chinese national, lost the equivalent of US$1.7 million, which the perpetrator used for illegal gambling and personal expenses. The case highlights the risks of physical crypto theft and the consequences of cybercrime.
A former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) captain, Teo Rong Xuan, 35, has been sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison for breaking into a man's home, accessing his cryptocurrency wallet, and stealing 1.7 million USDT.
The stolen amount, equivalent to US$1.7 million (S$2.15 million), was taken from the victim's Ledger Nano X cold wallet, a hardware device resembling a thumb drive. The victim, a 30-year-old Chinese national, had registered the wallet on an official mobile application, generating a 24-word seed phrase that Teo later used to access and drain the funds. The theft occurred in 2023, with Teo pleading guilty in October 2025 to charges of housebreaking and computer misuse.
Teo, who left the SAF in 2023 after serving in the Naval Diving Unit since 2010, met the victim through a mutual friend in June 2022. During a visit to the victim's condominium, Teo secretly took a photo of the seed phrase, which he later used to transfer the stolen USDT. He spent part of the funds on illegal gambling websites and converted the rest to US dollars, depositing it into his bank account.
The victim discovered the theft in March 2023 and reported it to the police, who traced the funds with the help of blockchain security firm SlowMist. Teo admitted to the crime, citing financial losses from the collapse of FTX Trading in 2022 as his motive. His bail was set at $130,000, and he is scheduled to begin his sentence on May 29
Singapore Armed Forces Cryptocurrency Theft Housebreaking Computer Misuse FTX Collapse
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