SINGAPORE - A 61-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit $10,000 portrait series note, the police said in a statement on Friday (Oct 18).

The police said they were alerted on Thursday to a case of a counterfeit $10,000 portrait series note presented at a bank in Singapore.

The man had earlier deposited the note and his bank account was credited its corresponding value.

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department arrested the man on Friday.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man received the counterfeit note from a foreign man he did not know who sought his assistance to deposit the note, in exchange for a monetary reward.

The 61-year-old man is expected to be charged in court on Saturday with using counterfeit notes as genuine currency.

He can be fined and jailed for up to 20 years.

The portrait series is the fourth set of currency notes to be launched here. Notes from the series feature a portrait of Singapore's first president Yusof Ishak.

The police advised members of the public to be vigilant and to examine any $10,000 Portrait Series notes as they are not commonly available and no longer in circulation.

They also reminded members of the public to be wary of receiving possible counterfeit notes, and to take the following measures if they believe they have received a counterfeit note:

- Delay the person who presented the suspected counterfeit note, if possible, and call the Police at 999 immediately.

- Take note of the appearance of the person who presented the counterfeit note, such as gender, race, age, height, build, type of clothing, tattoos and language or dialect spoken.

- Note the type of vehicle used, if any, including its licence plate number.

- Limit the handling of the suspected counterfeit note and place it in a protective covering, such as an envelope, to prevent further tampering.

- Hand the note to the police immediately.