Woman fined $5k for cheating by posing as Marriott associate’s sister to get hotel stay discounts

SINGAPORE – A woman who travelled to Singapore and claimed to be the sister of a Marriott associate to repeatedly obtain discounted room rates was fined $5,000 on Oct 6.

Kao Jane Zhao, 41, who obtained nearly $3,400 in discounts, has since made full restitution.

The American woman had pleaded guilty in September to a cheating charge involving more than $1,500.

Eight other charges, including those linked to the remaining amount, were considered during her sentencing.

In earlier proceedings, the court heard that she was in the US in 2024 when she went on classified advertisements website Craiglist and bought an Explore membership – a programme by hotel company Marriott Bonvoy – from an unknown seller for US$300 (S$380).

Kao knew the seller had falsely stated in the Explore membership authorisation form that she was the sister of one Michael Melendez, a Marriott associate.

She also knew that only Marriott associates and their family members could receive discounted rates for their rooms at participating properties worldwide by presenting the “Explore by Marriott Bonvoy Program Authorisation Form” at the front desk.

Such properties included Sheraton Towers Singapore.

Kao checked into the hotel on Sept 8, 2024 after presenting the form to its front-desk manager, falsely representing herself as Melendez’s sister.

She then dishonestly induced Sheraton Towers to give her discounted room rates to stay at the hotel for five nights.

After that, she extended her stay on four separate occasions for another five consecutive nights at the discounted rate.

Kao checked out on Sept 18, 2024, only to return five days later to stay four more nights.

In total, she received more than $1,500 in discounts.

During her final stay, the manager verified her authorisation form with his counterparts in the US and found that she is not Melendez’s sister.

The manager alerted the police and Kao was arrested.

Defence lawyer Gino Hardial Singh from Abbots Chambers asked the court in September to sentence her to a fine of not more than $5,000, adding that her conduct arose from poor judgment.

Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.