A TAIWANESE man has been given 18 months' jail for helping two men to receive and transfer funds from their kidnapping scam.

Lee Chin Lung, 35, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to making available three bank accounts of China nationals to Ah Kai and Big Boss for the transfer and withdrawal of various sums totalling $77,500 between Dec 16 last year and Jan 8.

A district court heard that Lee responded to a job advertisement in Taiwan which involved travelling to Singapore.

Big Boss told him to travel to Singapore to meet Ah Kai who would give him instructions.

When he arrived on Dec 16, Ah Kai told him that Big Boss and he were in the soccer betting business.

Ah Kai told him to look for China nationals with bank accounts which could be used to receive payments from punters who lost money.

Lee was then to withdraw and deliver the money.

He befriended three China nationals separately. He said he needed to use their bank accounts to receive and withdraw money.

The $77,500 that Lee helped to withdraw from the three accounts were remitted to various beneficiaries in China.

These payments were ransom paid by four victims duped into believing that their children had been kidnapped.

Lee was arrested in Geylang on Jan 8 in a police ambush.

He could have been fined up to $500,000 and/or jailed for up to seven years under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.