SINGAPORE, June 24 -- A 29-year-old man who was lured into a fraudulent scheme to trick tech companies into delivering free laptops via a PayPal glitch has avoided a criminal record after turning himself in.

Jonathan Wee Jianwei was given a short detention order (SDO) of 14 days on Tuesday, along with 70 hours of community service to be completed within a year. An SDO serves as a deterrent by exposing the offender to prison life without leaving a permanent criminal record.

Wee pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to deceive Lenovo, with two additional charges taken into consideration, CNA reported.

The scam began in late 2019, orchestrated by 31-year-old Calvin Fong Jun Jie. Fong targeted his primary school friend, Alden Low Yoong...