THIS suspected scammer once taunted police with messages like "Catch me if you can". It was a theme he returned to yesterday - 24-year-old Goh Chin Soo failed to turn up in court to answer charges of cheating motorists on an online motoring forum.

Community Court Judge Bala Reddy issued a warrant for his arrest.

Goh, who was out on bail, was supposed to appear in court to answer the 26 charges against him.

The self-employed man gained notoriety last year after allegedly cheating car enthusiasts out of tens of thousands of dollars by offering to sell heavily discounted car parts via the Internet. He is said to have used an alias and later gloated to his victims that he would never be caught.

He is believed to have covered his tracks by using Internet cafes. The police have not revealed how they identified him.

Goh first appeared in court last November for allegedly cheating a man out of $280.

All in, Goh faces 23 cheating charges, plus two under the Computer Misuse Act and one under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

His aunt, Madam Han Juat Eng, who posted the $40,000 bail, said through an interpreter that her nephew was not home when she went there yesterday morning.

The judge ordered Madam Han to show cause why the bail sum should not be forfeited on Sept 14.