Jun 18, 2010
Jeweller under-declared cash
<!-- by line --> By Khushwant Singh
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A SRI Lankan jeweller, who pleaded guilty to failing to give an accurate report on the money he brought into Singapore, was fined $8,000 on Friday. A district court heard that Mohamed Cassim Zaunul Abdeen, 54, was exiting the green channel - for travellers who had nothing to declare - at Changi Airport on Dec 28. However, when questioned by an immigration and checkpoints officer, he handed over four cash declaration forms that indicated that he had $489,000 in 12 currencies.
A check revealed that he was actually carrying S$504,800 worth in 16 currencies. He told investigators that although he was aware of the requirement to declare amounts exceeding $30,000, he assumed it was not a serious matter. He further assumed he only needed to declare the amount of currency he thought or estimated he had on him without the need to verify its accuracy. The money was for business purposes.
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