That’s ruff: Pet dog sob story suckers soft-hearted Singaporean

Photo: Pauline Doradora Ah/FB
Photo: Pauline Doradora Ah/FB

Fluffy was a 10-year-old poodle with skin cancer. Fluffy could only be saved via a costly surgery his owner couldn’t afford. Fluffy, in short, desperately needed your help.

Fluffy also, it would appear, didn’t exist. That’s the harsh reality Facebook user Pauline Doradora Ah says she faced after she was asked to send money to Colin Ho, the man she claims took advantage of her love of animals for a quick buck.

According to her Wednesday post, Ho sent her a message on Instagram with the handle @save_fluffy. The former explained that he needed cash desperately to save his beloved bichon frisé. The Instagram account has since been taken down (surprise!).

Ho then allegedly proceeded to ask Pauline for a SG$20 to SG$50 donation to help pay for the pooch’s medical bills, saying Fluffy was under the care of a Dr. Liang at a clinic called “West Coast Vetcare.”

After starting to feel something was off, Pauline pressed Ho for the bill, at which point he told her Fluffy hadn’t had his surgery yet.

Suspicious, she then conducted a little research on her own. 

“I used my own IG acc to test him. Turns out, he did not disappoint lol,” she wrote.

“I was blocked after asking for the vet bill. He said Fluffy still hasn’t went through surgery yet, but in his IG post, he claimed that Fluffy had already gone for his first surgery! Lmao.”

Photo: Pauline Doradora Ah/FB
Photo: Pauline Doradora Ah/FB

Next up was a call to the good folks at West Coast Vet, who — shock of shocks — had no record of a patient called Fluffy.

That’s about the time Pauline realized she wasn’t alone in her experience. Earlier this year, Facebook users Nat Tan and Nasz Ismail both shared similar experiences with the alleged scammer.

According to Tan’s post, Ho would take money from strangers by telling them pitiful stories and promising to repay them, without actually intending to. Hmmm … sounds familiar.

Ho would gain the trust of his victims by giving them his identification card details. But once he had gotten the cash he sought, would suddenly become uncontactable.

Since Pauline’s post, other netizens have come forward to share their own experiences receiving similar messages from Ho asking for money. Coconuts Singapore reached out to Pauline Ah for comment, but did not hear back from her by the time of this article’s publication.

Screengrab: Pauline Doradora Ah/FB
Screengrab: Pauline Doradora Ah/FB
Screengrab: Pauline Doradora Ah/FB
Screengrab: Pauline Doradora Ah/FB


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