Law dictates that we cannot rotan foreigners especially after the big Fay fiasco.
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Foreign talent's contributions to Singapore
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This privilege is reserved only for citizens …like our NS.
13 years’ jail, 16 strokes for man who tried to rape daughter when she was four
Selina Lum
Senior Law Correspondent
JAN 30, 2024
SINGAPORE – A 38-year-old man who twice tried to rape his daughter when she was four to five years old was sentenced to 13 years’ jail and 16 strokes of the cane on Jan 29.
The man, a Malaysian who used to work as a food server at a hospital, had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of attempted rape. The two incidents took place a few weeks apart in 2013.
Three other charges – one for molesting the girl in 2013 and two for taking photographs of her genitalia while she was sleeping during the Covid-19 circuit breaker from April 7 to June 1 in 2020 – were taken into consideration during sentencing.
In handing down the sentence, Justice Pang Khang Chau took into account the extreme youth of the victim, the severe psychological harm caused to her, that the offences were premeditated, and that the man came close to completing the offences.
The first attempted rape occurred while the victim’s mother was at work and the man was taking care of the girl and her two younger brothers.
The man told the victim to follow him to a bedroom, locked the door, and tried to rape her after passing her his mobile phone for her to watch videos.
A few weeks later, while the victim’s mother was not at home, the man again tried to rape the girl after asking her to follow him into the bedroom.
Prosecutors said there were other occasions of attempted rape, but the victim could not give details of these incidents due to the passage of time and her young age.
The girl suspected what her father had done to her was wrong only after she attended a sexuality education talk in Primary 5.
Initially, she did not tell anyone about the abuse as she was afraid her friends would avoid her and that her mother would be left alone to support the family if her father was incarcerated.
In 2021, when she was in Secondary 1, she posted on Instagram about being raped, and also told her best friend that she had been raped.
In January 2022, the victim’s teacher saw cuts on her forearm, and the girl disclosed that she had harmed herself due to “sexual assault”.
The school counsellor and child protection officers from the Ministry of Social and Family Development then interviewed the victim, and took her to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for a medical examination.
The hospital reported the case to the police on Jan 27, 2022, and the man was arrested on the same day.
The victim underwent 17 counselling sessions between April 12 and Sept 7 in 2022.
In her victim impact statement, the girl, who is now 15, said she felt “bad and guilty” since the police got involved.
She also felt “helpless” that her mother has to bear the family responsibilities and take care of the victim and her brothers on her own.
She said she wanted someone to comfort her, but also felt that she “didn’t deserve” to be comforted.
These emotions caused the victim to harm herself as a form of relief and also to punish herself because she felt she was “a bad person for causing all these”.
“I blamed myself for everything,” she said.
Man who killed ex-fiancee is first person to be executed for murder in Singapore since 2019
Samuel Devaraj
FEB 28, 2024
SINGAPORE - A man who strangled his former fiancee in a budget hotel in Geylang in 2018 was hanged on Feb 28.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said the capital sentence had been carried out on Bangladeshi national Ahmed Salim, 35, who had petitioned to the President for clemency but was unsuccessful.
This is the first judicial execution for murder in Singapore since 2019, a Singapore Prison Service spokesman told The Straits Times, on Feb 28, in response to queries. He added this is the first execution in 2024.
Ahmed, a painter, had strangled Indonesian domestic worker Nurhidayati Wartono Surata in a room at the Golden Dragon Hotel on the evening of Dec 30, 2018, after she refused to leave a new man she was seeing.
Ahmed was charged with murder on Jan 2, 2019 and sentenced to death on Dec 14, 2020.
An appeal against his conviction was dismissed on Jan 19, 2022.
SPF said Ahmed was accorded full due process under the law, and had access to legal counsel throughout the process.
It added: “Capital punishment is used only for the most serious crimes in Singapore that cause grave harm to the victim, or to society.
“Capital punishment is but one part of Singapore’s criminal justice system, which has kept Singapore and Singaporeans safe and secure.”
According to annual statistics from the Singapore Prison Service, the last person to be hanged for murder before Ahmed was in 2019, when there were two such judicial executions. There were four executions that year.
There were no judicial executions in 2020 and 2021, which SPS previously said was not due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Instead, it said an execution is scheduled only after legal processes relevant to an inmate’s death sentence and legal applications taken out on their behalf, or which could affect them, are resolved.
In recent years, there have been multiple cases of murder charges being reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
They included a teenager who slashed a fellow student to death at River Valley High School in 2021. He was sentenced to 16 years’ jail in Dec 2023.
Another case was Xavier Yap Jung Houn who was sentenced to 14 years’ jail in August 2023, after strangling his 11-year-old twins at a covered canal in Greenridge Crescent in 2022.
During Ahmed’s court proceedings, it was revealed that he and Ms Nurhidayati started a relationship in May 2012 after a chance encounter.
They agreed to get married in December 2018, with Ahmed putting a ring on her finger at a party in 2017.
But she had an affair with Bangladeshi plumber, Mr Shamin Shamizur Rahman, in mid-2018.
Ahmed confronted her after suspecting that she was cheating on him, and she admitted to dating another man.
Ahmed asked his mother to help him look for a wife. She found one and arrangements were made for his wedding to take place in February 2019.
But a few months later, Ahmed and Ms Nurhidayati reconciled.
However, they quarrelled over her infidelity and on one occasion, while they were in a hotel room, Ahmed pressed a towel over her mouth. He let go after she struggled.
In late 2018, Ms Nurhidayati talked to Bangladeshi general fitter, Mr Hanifa Mohammad Abu, on Facebook.
She told Mr Hanifa she was in a relationship with Ahmed and promised she would make a clean break with Ahmed.
On Dec 9, 2018, Ms Nurhidayati told Ahmed she had a new boyfriend and that he should return to Bangladesh for his arranged marriage.
While she told him during a meeting on Dec 23 that year that she would continue seeing him, she later broke up with him over a phone call.
Ahmed convinced her to meet him again seven days later and they had sex at a hotel.
He threatened to kill Ms Nurhidayati if she did not end her relationship with Mr Hanifa. When she refused, Ahmed strangled her with a towel.
A judge found that Ahmed had decided to kill Ms Nurhidayati even before Dec 30, 2018, so long as she refused to leave her new boyfriend and return to him.
This was because he had brought a rope to the hotel and had cleared out his bank account earlier on the day of the murder, among other things.
Ahmed was represented by a team of lawyers, including Mr Eugene Thuraisingam, Mr Chooi Jing Yen and Mr Hamza Malik.
On Feb 28, Mr Thuraisingam told ST they had argued hard that Ahmed’s adjustment disorder impaired his mental responsibility for the offence of murder and that he should be spared the death penalty and be sentenced to life imprisonment instead.
He said: “We were unable to convince the court of this. The court was of the view that he knew what he was doing was wrong, and he did not lose control of himself.”
Mr Thuraisingam, who has regularly taken on capital cases since 2012, was interviewed by ST recently on a feature on the mental and emotional toll faced by defence lawyers and prosecutors handling death penalty cases.
He spoke about the high stakes for defence lawyers who handle such cases.
On Ahmed, Mr Thuraisingam said: “We gave it our all and really tried our best for him. It has, however, now come to a stage where the law has to take its course, and we have to accept and respect that.”
Jail, caning for man who was a teacher when he molested friends’ 12-year-old daughter
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
MAR 06, 2024
SINGAPORE - A male teacher molested his friends’ 12-year-old daughter while hosting a sleepover at his condominium unit in February 2021.
At the time, the offender was the victim’s neighbour and teaching at her school.
For outraging the child’s modesty, the 41-year-old foreigner was sentenced on March 6 to a year and 11 months in jail with three strokes of the cane.
In January, District Judge Lee Lit Cheng convicted him of a molestation charge after a trial.
Details about the offender, his home and the school cannot be disclosed owing to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity.
The Straits Times is also not disclosing his nationality as doing so could lead to him and the girl being identified.
Court documents did not disclose if he is still a teacher, but he had been suspended from work earlier.
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In their submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutors Nicholas Wuan and Teo Siu Ming said the offender and his family members had a close relationship with the victim and her loved ones.
The girl was close to his children and they often played together. She also had multiple sleepovers with his daughter at the offender’s home.
The victim, who was referred to as V1 in court documents, was also close to the offender. The DPPs said he was someone she respected.
She was in the same bed as his daughter during one of the sleepovers on Feb 27, 2021, the court heard.
At the time, both girls were using a fashion-related mobile phone application called Combyne. The man was standing near the victim who was under a duvet, said the prosecutors.
The DPPs told Judge Lee: “On Feb 28, 2021, past midnight, the unthinkable happened. Whilst (the girls were) busy creating outfits on a mobile phone application as part of a friendly competition... the accused slid his hand under the covers and (molested the victim).
“V1 was shocked but continued to make outfits on Combyne. She did not tell (the offender’s daughter) about what was happening as she felt that this would scar (her friend).”
According to court documents, the man stopped touching the victim only after she said she was tired a few times and that they should go to bed.
The victim left the apartment later that morning and told her mother about her ordeal.
The mother lodged a police report on March 5, 2021, and officers arrested the offender the next day.
During the trial, he denied molesting the child, stating that she had falsely accused him of committing the offence.
Among other things, he claimed that the girl made the accusation as she was purportedly having difficulty adjusting to her new school in Singapore.
He also claimed that the act of molestation could have been a vivid dream.
In their submissions, the DPPs said the victim was a credible witness, adding: “Her testimony was unusually convincing when viewed against the totality of the evidence.
“In contrast, the accused had been an evasive and unreliable witness... He even had the temerity to allege that V1 might have concocted the entire event as a ‘cry for attention’.”
The DPPs said that following the incident, the victim was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, which she was able to overcome with professional help and strong family support.
However, she still has “pretty big trust issues” and blamed herself for destroying the relationship between the two families, the court heard.
For molesting a child below 14 years old, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.
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Jail for NTU master's student who sent emails threatening to cut disciplinary staff’s throats
Mohd Johan Arif Irwan Tan was investigated after a complaint was lodged against him for allegedly harassing female students.
File photo of students at the Nanyang Technological University. (Photo: Calvin Oh/CNA)
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Louisa Tang
19 Jan 2024SINGAPORE: Upset that his university was investigating him for allegedly harassing female students, Mohd Johan Arif Irwan Tan sent threatening emails to several staff members, saying he would go to the campus with a knife and cut their throats.
The 35-year-old Malaysian was sentenced to three weeks’ jail on Friday (Jan 19) for his actions last year.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal intimidation and chose to begin serving his jail sentence immediately.
The court heard that Johan was pursuing a master’s degree in media and communication at Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, which investigated a complaint against him for the alleged harassment of some female NTU students.
After completing preliminary investigations, the school forwarded the matter to NTU’s Board of Discipline Secretariat for a further probe.
The board receives complaints regarding violations of NTU’s student code of conduct. It will then investigate and manage the complaints, as well as notify the students involved and arrange a meeting with them to brief them on the investigation and disciplinary procedures.
When investigations are completed, the board chairman will look at the findings.
The board can impose disciplinary measures ranging from a stern warning to expulsion from NTU.
On Apr 25, 2023, the board sent an email to Johan, telling them that a report had been lodged against him for an alleged violation of the student code of conduct. A disciplinary inquiry had therefore been initiated to investigate the matter.
The board invited Johan to a meeting for him to be briefed on the disciplinary procedures.
About an hour later, Johan replied to the email. He also copied eight other recipients including NTU faculty members.
His email stated: "I would like to let you know tat [sic] I think you guys at NTU should stop harassing me with your investigations already or else I would call the police right NOW and STICK A KNIFE UP YOUR THROATS. YOU GOT THAT???
“Last warning and I’m no longer playing. I mean it.”
Another hour later, he sent another email to the same recipients. This time, he said: “Yes, so in case you guys are wondering if I really mean what I said. I would like to say that yes I do mean what I say.
“And im going to go to NTU with a knife tomorrow and cut everyone’s throat in the management office.
“So if you want to call the police you can call the police now, I’ll be waiting for them.”
The board informed NTU’s associate provost of student life about this, who advised them to immediately work from home until there was news of Johan being arrested.
The next morning, the board issued an exclusion and no-contact notice to Johan, barring him from entering the university campus and communicating with any NTU personnel, except for one faculty member who served as his contact person.
Court documents did not state the outcome of the board's investigations against Johan.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ethan Lee told the court that Johan was known to have schizoaffective disorder, which is characterised primarily by symptoms of schizophrenia like hallucinations or delusions, as well as obsessive compulsive disorder.
However, Johan was not suffering a relapse of these mental illnesses at the time. There was also no contributory link between the disorders and his offence.
DPPs Lee and Claire Poh sought a jail term of between three and six weeks, noting that Johan did not actually bring a weapon within close proximity of the board members despite his threats.
For criminal intimidation, Johan could have been fined or jailed up to two years, or both.
Jail for woman who duped MSF into giving her $6.6k of Covid-19 grants
Nadine Chua
JAN 15, 2024
SINGAPORE – A woman who duped the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) into disbursing $6,600 worth of Covid-19 grants to her when she was not eligible for them was sentenced to 20 weeks’ jail.
Chen Xiao, 39, pleaded guilty to three cheating charges and one forgery charge on Jan 15.
Chen, a Chinese national and Singapore permanent resident, had applied to receive payments under two grants meant for those who lost their jobs due to Covid-19, even though she lost her job before the pandemic hit.
The first grant she applied for was the Covid-19 Support Grant (CSG), which was administered by the MSF to help Singapore citizens and permanent residents who were unemployed or experienced a loss of income because of the economic impact of Covid-19.
The application window ran from May 4, 2020, to Dec 31, 2020.
The other grant she applied for was the Covid-19 Recovery Grant (CRG) to help Singapore citizens and permanent residents in lower to middle-income households who experienced involuntary job loss, involuntary no-pay leave or income loss due to the pandemic.
The application window ran from Jan 18, 2021, to Dec 31, 2022.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Koh said Chen was previously employed by J Koion, a Japanese restaurant at Zhongshan Mall. Court documents did not state what role she previously held at the restaurant.
The restaurant ceased operations on Nov 15, 2019, and Chen become unemployed on that date.
The DPP said Chen was aware that because her unemployment was before Jan 23, 2020, and not due to the economic impact of Covid-19, she was not eligible for both the CSG and CRG.
In May 2020, Chen made an online application for the CSG and stated that she had lost her job due to Covid-19 on Feb 1, 2020.
This application was rejected that month as Chen had not submitted any supporting documents from her former employer.
When Chen saw this, she contacted the former owner of J Koion, Ms Wang Yan, to ask for a letter in support of her CSG application.
Ms Wang said she could not provide Chen with such a letter but suggested that she create one herself.
DPP Koh said that in May 2020, Chen faked a retrenchment letter from J Koion that stated her employment was terminated from Feb 1, 2020, and a signed “payment voucher” that stated she had received $1,000 as her salary for January.
In May and October 2020, Chen made two CSG applications which MSF approved, leading to the ministry disbursing $4,800 to her.
In January 2021, Chen made a CRG application, which was also approved by MSF, and received $1,800.
Her offences came to light when an MSF officer noticed that Chen’s retrenchment letter had various fonts and suspected it had been forged. The ministry subsequently reported the matter to the police.
Chen has since made full restitution, said the DPP.
Those convicted of cheating can be jailed for up to 10 years and are also liable to a fine.
Jail, caning for man who carried woman to field and molested her
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
JAN 19, 2024
SINGAPORE – What started out as a night of merrymaking for a 21-year-old woman at a Turf Club Road restaurant turned into a nightmare when a man carried her out of the premises and took her to a nearby field.
Indian national Erugula Eswara Reddy, who was in Singapore on a student pass, then lay the woman, a British national, on the ground and undressed himself after molesting her.
One of the woman’s male friends went to the field when he heard a scream and saw that Erugula was naked with the partially dressed victim lying face up nearby and weeping.
The friend alerted the police and officers arrived at the scene to arrest the offender.
On Jan 19, Erugula, 25, who pleaded guilty to a molestation charge, was sentenced to four years’ jail and six strokes of the cane.
The woman cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity.
In the evening of Aug 20, 2022, shortly before the incident, the woman had met up with some friends for drinks, and consumed some alcoholic beverages.
At around 11pm, they went to the Festivo @ Mr Gallop restaurant in Turf Club Road near Dunearn Road. The woman felt tipsy, but was still able to walk unassisted and was aware of her surroundings.
She had thrown up, and sat on a chair in the eatery to send a text message to a male friend who was supposed to be there. She also shared with him her live location at the time.
Erugula then approached her and started talking to her, causing her to feel uncomfortable. She told him that she was fine and did not need any help.
At 1.40am, she sent another text message to her friend, telling him about her encounter with Erugula.
Deputy Public Prosecutor John Lu told the court: “The accused then lifted the victim off her chair, held her face-to-face and carried her out of Festivo. The victim could not see where the accused was taking her, as her back was facing the direction in which they were moving.
“During this time, the victim asked the accused not to take her and to let her go, but the accused persisted with his actions. The accused also took the victim’s handphone from her.”
Erugula took the woman to a nearby field, placed her on the ground and hovered over her. She told him to stop and stay away but her cries fell on deaf ears.
Despite this, she managed to convince him to return her mobile phone. At around 1.50am, she used the device to send a few messages to her friend, asking for help.
Erugula took away the mobile phone and molested the woman before undressing himself.
Her concerned friend, who had arrived at Festivo, received the messages and left the restaurant with a party of searchers to look for the woman.
He heard a faraway scream as he was walking near some tennis courts and saw the silhouettes of two people, who turned out to be Erugula and the victim, at the open field in the distance.
The friend and his group then made their way there. As they came forward, Erugula, who was in the nude, moved away from the crying victim.
The friend called for the police at around 2am and Erugula was arrested soon after.
On Jan 19, DPP Lu urged the court to sentence Erugula to four years’ jail and six strokes of the cane, adding: “During his interaction with the victim, the accused must have noticed that the victim was drunk, alone and vulnerable, which is why the accused chose to take advantage of her.”
For committing the offence, Erugula could have been jailed for between two and 10 years, and caned.
Jail, caning for man who tried but failed to rape drunken female friend
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
JAN 18, 2024
SINGAPORE - A man who tried but failed to rape his drunk female friend after a drinking session was sentenced to four years and six months’ jail and three strokes of the cane on Jan 18.
The 39-year-old Filipino offender, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity, pleaded guilty on Jan 15 to an attempted rape charge.
Two molestation charges involving the same woman, a Filipina, were considered during sentencing.
In earlier proceedings, the prosecution said that on April 1, 2019, the man, the victim and two other people went to 1-Altitude bar in Raffles Place, where they drank large amounts of alcohol.
The victim became intoxicated and started throwing up.
The group left the nightspot around 1am and the offender helped her to a taxi stand, where they boarded the same taxi.
It was travelling to the man’s home when he pulled her towards him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder.
He molested the victim, who was drifting in and out of consciousness at the time.
When they reached the destination, he took her to his apartment and helped her to a bed, resting beside her when she fell asleep.
He molested her again between 3am and 5am that day.
Deputy public prosecutors Muhamad Imaduddien and Emily Koh stated in court documents: “The victim felt weak when she woke up and tried to turn away from the accused, but the accused managed to pull down (her top).”
The offender undressed the victim and tried but failed to rape her as she managed to keep her legs crossed.
Her boyfriend turned up at the unit soon after and took her back to her own home.
The victim later confided in her close friends. She also sought help from advocacy organisation Association of Women for Action and Research as she was having nightmares and panic attacks following her ordeal.
She attended a counselling session on May 14, 2019 and lodged a police report 13 days later.
She continued attending counselling sessions until July 2019 but stopped due to her work schedule.
The offender’s bail was set at $50,000 on Jan 18. He was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on Feb 13 to begin serving his sentence.
Jail for man who swopped diamond ring worth $318k with replica at Tiffany & Co
The replica ring (left) which Wu Youquan used to swop with a diamond ring worth $318,000 (right). PHOTOS: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
JAN 20, 2024
SINGAPORE – A Chinese national was employed as an odd job worker when a man asked him if he was interested in a “fast cash” job involving swopping a genuine diamond ring at Tiffany & Co with a replica.
Wu Youquan, who agreed to the plan, came to Singapore in November 2023 and went to the jewellery store’s outlet at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to commit the offence.
He was caught after a Tiffany & Co team manager noticed that the price tag attached to the replica ring had a different texture from the one found on the genuine 3.18 carat piece, which was worth $318,000.
Her male colleague was about to conduct a physical check on Wu when the latter took out the genuine ring from his pocket and asked for forgiveness.
Wu, 44, was sentenced to three years and four months’ jail on Jan 19 after he pleaded guilty to a theft charge.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelly Ng said that a man known as Chen Hanbo had earlier reached out to Wu around October 2023 to ask if he was interested in the “high risk” job.
Wu agreed to be part of the plan, even though Chen did not disclose how much he would earn from it – he only assured him that he would not be “short-changed”. Court documents did not disclose where the men were at the time.
Wu came to Singapore alone on Nov 9, 2023, with Chen footing his travel expenses. He was instructed to go to Tiffany & Co to look for the biggest diamond ring and snap a picture of its price tag.
Wu went to the Tiffany & Co outlet at The Shoppes at MBS and claimed to be “Mr Liew” from Taiwan, saying he was looking for a gift for his wife.
A client adviser showed Wu several diamond rings and with her permission, he snapped a picture of one worth $318,000 with its accompanying price tag.
Wu sent the picture to Chen and told the adviser he would return within the next few days to buy the ring.
Wu returned to China the next day and met Chen, who said that Wu would receive, via post, a replica ring which would look similar to the genuine piece.
After receiving the replica on Nov 18, 2023, Wu returned to Singapore alone two days later and Chen, again, footed his travel expenses.
He went back to the Tiffany & Co store and was served by a team manager, who showed him several rings on a black tray. Wu was also told that the client adviser, who had earlier served him, was not in the store at the time.
By using sleight of hand, Wu swopped the 3.18 carat ring with the replica after distracting the team manager by claiming that he wanted to have a look at another piece of jewellery.
DPP Ng said: “After stealing the genuine ring, the accused lied to the victim that he wanted to purchase (a) 2.15-carat ring so that he could find an opportunity to leave the store.
“While the victim was facilitating this purchase, the accused told the victim that he had changed his mind.”
The team manager then realised that the texture of the price tag on the replica ring felt different from the one on the genuine piece. She told Wu that the replica did not belong to Tiffany & Co, and the Chinese national did not respond.
Her male colleague, who was alerted, told Wu that he wanted to conduct a physical check on him.
The two men entered a room and Wu took out the genuine ring from his pocket. He asked for forgiveness and was arrested soon after.
For theft, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.
Nominee director fined after firm’s bank account was used to receive $620k in scam proceeds
Chinese citizen Zhang Tianxue, who is now a Singapore permanent resident, pleaded guilty on Jan 23 to one charge under the Companies Act. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Christine Tan
JAN 24, 2024
SINGAPORE – A woman who acted as a nominee director of a local company was fined $3,000 after the firm’s bank account received more than $620,000 in scam proceeds.
The court found that Chinese national Zhang Tianxue, 41, did not exercise reasonable diligence in the discharge of her duties as a director as she failed to exercise any supervision over the company’s affairs.
Zhang, who is now a Singapore permanent resident, pleaded guilty on Jan 23 to one charge under the Companies Act. She was also disqualified from being a company director for two years.
Court documents said Zhang got to know one Wu Jinping, a director of JJCA Corporate Services, in 2012. The two were friends and former colleagues.
Some time in 2020, Wu’s friend told her about another friend’s son, one Mr Li Yilun, who wanted to incorporate a company in Singapore.
As the inquiry came from a friend, Wu felt reassured to take on Mr Li as a client. JJCA Corporate Services also conducted background checks and found nothing suspicious. They then set up a company for Mr Li, named Moon SNE.
Zhang was then appointed to serve as the nominee director of Moon SNE in May 2020. She received $1,000 as remuneration.
But from then till March 9, 2022, when she relinquished her directorship, Zhang did not meet or speak to Mr Li to ascertain the nature of his business, and did not conduct regular checks on the company’s financial affairs.
On March 11, 2021, management consultancy TMF Singapore H alerted the police that its related company based in South Africa had fallen victim to an impersonation scam, and was scammed of more than US$463,000 (S$620,500).
The sum was transferred to Moon SNE’s bank account. The Commercial Affairs Department seized the account one day after receiving the report.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Shiau Yin called for Zhang to be fined $4,000 and given a disqualification order of three years. Said DPP Wong: “Other than being a paper director allowing Moon SNE to meet the statutory requirement of having at least one local director, Zhang made no other contribution to Moon SNE whatsoever.”
Zhang’s lawyer, Ms Jacintha Gopal of R.S. Solomon, said her client reviewed the background checks on Mr Li and the sales invoices he submitted of his business, and believed his business was legitimate.
Subsequently, UOB approved the opening of the bank account based on those invoices, said the lawyer.
She added this was not a case where Zhang had missed obvious red flags on the company’s financial transactions.
Ms Gopal, who asked for a lower fine of $2,000 and a one-year disqualification period, said: “(Zhang) had nothing to do with the impersonation scam and nothing to do with the proceeds that entered into Moon SNE’s bank account. She did not have sinister intentions.”
Wu has been charged with one count of abetting Zhang’s offence.
Her case will be heard at a later date.
Zhang is one of several nominee directors who were hauled to court recently for failing to exercise diligence in their duties.
In September 2023, Singaporean Er Beng Hwa was fined $4,000 and disqualified from being a company director for three years. He had been a nominee director of 186 companies, and one firm was used by scammers to launder $3.23 million.
Two women and food manufacturer fined for flouting food safety rules
Poorly maintained premises of Suvai Foods, and meat and seafood products in an unlicensed cold store at 62 Senoko Road. PHOTOS: SINGAPORE FOOD AGENCY
Yong Li Xuan
JAN 24, 2024
SINGAPORE – Two women and a food manufacturing firm were fined on Jan 24 for flouting food import and safety rules, among other things.
The women, Bui Thi Quyen and Ta Thi Tuyen, were each fined $27,000 for illegally operating unlicensed cold stores and illegally importing meat and seafood products from Vietnam, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said.
SFA officers found more than 700kg of meat and seafood products in an unlicensed cold store at 62 Senoko Road on April 13, 2023.
The processed and raw food products, including pork, beef, chicken, fish and frog, had also been imported from unapproved sources and without a valid licence, said the SFA, which seized the products.
The offence carries a fine of up to $50,000, jail for up to two years, or both. Repeat offenders may be fined up to $100,000, jailed for up to three years, or both.
More than 700kg of meat and seafood products were found in an unlicensed cold store at 62 Senoko Road on April 13, 2023. PHOTO: SINGAPORE FOOD AGENCY
All cold stores for meat and seafood products must also be licensed, and meet the SFA’s requirements and food safety standards.
Illegal storage of meat and seafood at unlicensed facilities poses a food safety risk, the agency said. Such offenders may be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to 12 months, or both.
Separately, Suvai Foods – which manufactures flour confectionary such as chapati, dosa and idly batters – was fined $10,000 for multiple offences.
An SFA inspection on Feb 21, 2023, uncovered severe cockroach infestations throughout Suvai Foods’ premises at 1009 Aljunied Avenue 4, which were poorly maintained.
Its food delivery truck was not clean and live cockroaches were found at the back of it.
Live cockroaches were found at the back of Suvai Foods’ food delivery truck. PHOTO: SINGAPORE FOOD AGENCY
The packing area was also extended without approval, it added.
The SFA said it suspended the company’s operations from Feb 21 to March 8, and directed it to rectify the lapses and improve the food safety practices and cleanliness of its premises.
The suspension was lifted on March 9, 2023.
Food operators who do not adhere to food safety regulations may be fined up to $5,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of up to $100 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.
Those who come across poor food safety practices in food establishments are advised not to patronise them and to provide feedback at www.sfa.gov.sg/feedback
Foreign interference law invoked for the first time against naturalised S’porean businessman
Mr Philip Chan Man Ping, a Hong Kong-born businessman and president of the Kowloon Club helping new immigrants to Singapore, has been assessed to have shown susceptibility to being influenced by foreign actors, MHA said. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE
Chin Soo Fang and Jean Iau
FEB 26, 2024
SINGAPORE - Businessman Philip Chan Man Ping, 59, has been served notice that the authorities intend to designate him as a politically significant person under Singapore’s foreign interference laws.
This is as Mr Chan, a naturalised Singapore citizen, has been assessed to have shown susceptibility to being influenced by foreign actors, and willingness to advance their interests, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Feb 2.
The notice means the Hong Kong-born businessman is the first person to be dealt with under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica), a law that empowers the authorities here to deal with foreign interference in domestic politics.
In a statement, MHA said it has been assessed that his activities “are directed towards a political end in Singapore, and that it is in the public interest for countermeasures under Fica to be applied to Chan”.
As a designated politically significant person, Mr Chan would have to make annual disclosures to the authorities of political donations of $10,000 or more that he has received and accepted, and declare his foreign affiliations and any migration benefits.
“These transparency requirements would help to detect and prevent any foreign interference directed towards a political end in Singapore,” said MHA, without naming any country.
When contacted by The Straits Times, Mr Chan said he had just received the notice on Feb 2 and would respond to it next week.
ST reported in May 2023 that Mr Chan, the managing director of several real estate investment firms, was invited to attend China’s annual Two Sessions parliamentary meetings in March 2023 as an “overseas Chinese representative”.
He was one of 30 such representatives from around the world invited by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body to the Chinese government.
Their publicised activities included a briefing by Chinese officials on issues such as the easing of visa restrictions, and a meeting with CPPCC secretary-general Wang Dongfeng.
Fica was passed in Parliament on Oct 4, 2021, after a 10-hour debate. It aims to tackle foreign meddling in domestic politics, both through hostile information campaigns and the use of local proxies.
A person can be designated as a politically significant person if his activities are directed towards a political end and the competent authority, the Registrar of Foreign and Political Disclosures, assesses that it is in the public interest for countermeasures against foreign interference to be applied.
Designated politically significant persons need to disclose political donations and foreign affiliations. However, they can be issued stepped-up countermeasures if there is a higher risk of foreign interference.
These include prohibitions on receiving anonymous or foreign donations, which are already imposed on defined politically significant persons – a category that includes MPs, political parties and political office holders.
In a March 6 interview with Chinese media during the Two Sessions, Mr Chan said it is the duty of overseas Chinese communities to “tell China’s story well”, and called for an alliance between overseas Chinese in various countries to coordinate ways to do so.
“If you want to have a future, you must stand with the country that represents the future. China is the country that represents the future,” he told Chinese Headline New Media (Huaren Toutiao).
The People’s Association said Mr Chan was a patron of Kampong Chai Chee Citizens’ Consultative Committee and the Bukit Timah Community Club management committee. He has stepped down from all grassroots appointments.
In October 2019, Mr Chan facilitated a public assembly discussing the Hong Kong protests without a permit and was issued a warning by the police.
The gathering was held at Kimoto Gastro Bar – which Mr Chan was reported to have owned at the time – located at The Sail@ Marina Bay. Participants were seen chanting in support of the Hong Kong police in a video of the event.
The Oct 11 gathering came at a time when Hong Kong was rocked by increasingly violent protests sparked by an extradition Bill.
Mr Chan is the president of Kowloon Club, which helps new Chinese immigrants to Singapore. He is also the president of the Hong Kong Singapore Business Association.
He is “an altruistic philanthropist”, according to a write-up on SPD, a local charity that serves those with disabilities.
Mr Chan, who sits on one of SPD’s committees, is listed in the article as the managing director of property firms Wen Way Investments, Mutual Benefits Realty and C&H Properties.
Mr Chan has 14 days from Feb 2 to submit representations to the registrar. If he is designated, he can appeal to Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam against the registrar’s decision.
20 months’ jail for woman who tricked housemate into lending her more than $400k
Indonesian Tjheng A Liem pleaded guilty in November 2023 to five charges of using a forged document as a genuine one. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Nadine Chua
FEB 06, 2024
SINGAPORE - A woman had multiple documents forged, including bank and lawyers’ letters, so she could appear wealthy in a ruse to get her housemate to lend her money.
As a result, he lent her more than 4.6 billion rupiah (S$393,400) and $10,000 from March to April 2022 on 72 occasions.
On Feb 6, Indonesian Tjheng A Liem, 47, was sentenced to 20 months’ jail.
She had pleaded guilty in November 2023 to five charges of using a forged document as a genuine one.
Tjheng has since made restitution of more than 4.6 billion rupiah to the victim.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Edwin Ho said the male victim, 61, and Tjheng got to know each other as they were living in the same unit in People’s Park Complex in Chinatown.
They became friends and Tjheng told him that she had excess money from selling a flat as well as selling shares she owned in a logistics company.
She lied that she owned a condominium unit and that her bank accounts were frozen by the authorities as her taxes were overdue.
The prosecution said Tjheng told all these things to her housemate, whom she believed to be gullible, so he would think she was wealthy.
Tjheng subsequently asked him to lend her money as she had personal debts to settle and needed to help her daughter who she claimed was facing trouble with the authorities in Batam.
The victim believed her lies and was willing to help her as he hoped they would eventually do business together, said the DPP.
To sustain the victim’s belief that she was wealthy so he would continue to lend her money, Tjheng instructed an individual in Indonesia known as “Lukito” to help her forge multiple documents.
It was not stated in court documents if legal action has been taken against Lukito.
Between January and April 2022, Tjheng instructed Lukito to forge multiple documents, including bank and lawyers’ letters and a title deed to prove that she owned a condominium unit.
She then showed these documents to the victim to convince him that she was wealthy.
After he lent her money on multiple occasions, she constantly made excuses to delay returning the funds she owed him, said the prosecutor.
As the accused constantly came up with excuses to delay repayment, the victim began to suspect she was cheating him. He made a police report in September 2022.
In mitigation, Tjheng, who was unrepresented, told the court she was remorseful and sought leniency.
In meting out the sentence, District Judge Elton Tan said Tjheng leveraged the friendship she had with the victim to carry out the scheme to deceive him.
He said her offences did not consist of a single lie but rather, layers of deception, adding: “This shows not only the overall criminality of the accused’s behaviour but also a degree of sophistication in the deception.”
If convicted of using a forged document as a genuine one, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and be liable to a fine.
Interpol red notice against former YuuZoo boss over misleading statements by company
Former executive chairman of YuuZoo, Mr Thomas Zilliacus, was in the news recently after he made a bid for Manchester United. PHOTO: BT FILE
Samuel Devaraj
FEB 21, 2024
SINGAPORE - A Singapore warrant of arrest and an Interpol red notice have been issued against the former executive chairman and chief executive of social media company YuuZoo, Mr Thomas Zilliacus.
They are over his alleged involvement in the release of misleading statements by the company, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a statement on Feb 21.
The Finnish national, who is a Singapore permanent resident, was in the news recently after he made a bid for football club Manchester United.
The SPF said aside from Mr Zilliacus, three other individuals linked to the company – former chief financial officer Michael Parker, and independent directors Anthony Williams and Ozi Amanat – are also said to be involved in the same matter.
All four are currently out of Singapore and have refused to return, the SPF said. “Warrants of arrest have been issued against them. An Interpol red notice has also been issued against YuuZoo’s then CEO/executive chairman Thomas Zilliacus,” it added.
A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person.
Earlier on Feb 21, the company’s former CEO James Matthew Somasundram, 59, was charged in court over misleading statements that overstated YuuZoo’s revenues by millions of dollars.
Somasundram was handed four charges over the making of misleading statements that were likely to induce the purchase of securities by other persons under the Securities and Futures Act.
Under the Act, an officer of a company is guilty of an offence when an offence committed by the company is proved to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of that officer.
The offences allegedly committed by YuuZoo are attributable to Somasundram’s neglect, the charge sheets stated. Somasundram was appointed CEO of YuuZoo – which is now known as YuuZoo Networks Group – on Oct 1, 2015, and stepped down in November 2016 for health reasons.
According to court documents for Somasundram, YuuZoo, which was listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) mainboard, allegedly made quarterly financial statements and dividend announcements that were released via the SGXNet Web platform in February, May, August and November in 2016.
Former YuuZoo CEO James Matthew Somasundram was charged in a district court on Feb 21 for the alleged offences that occurred in 2016. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
In the statements made for the fourth quarter of 2015, which were released in February 2016, the company was said to have overstated its revenue by US$18.8 million (S$25 million).
It was said to have overstated its revenue by $13.3 million in the statements made for the first quarter of 2016, and by $17.1 million in statements made for the second quarter of that year.
In the statements made for the third quarter of 2016, the company was said to have overstated its revenue by $8.9 million.
It is alleged that YuuZoo had known, or should have reasonably known, that the figures were misleading.
These alleged misleading overstatements were said to have likely induced other persons to purchase YuuZoo shares.
YuuZoo was co-founded in 2008 by Mr Zilliacus, who was CEO of the company before Somasundram. He resigned as chairman in April 2018 amid an investigation by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) into the company.
In a filing to the SGX, the company said the investigation was started after a complaint from an unknown party. It added: “While he (Mr Zilliacus) is convinced nobody in the company has done anything wrong, he has informed the board he believes the honourable thing to do is to step aside while the investigation is ongoing.”
The Business Times reported at the time that CAD was investigating the company for possible breaches of the Securities and Futures Act.
Somasundram is represented by Mr Adam Muneer Yusoff Maniam and Ms Gina Ding Huaxing from Drew & Napier. His next court date is on March 20. For each charge he faces under the Securities and Futures Act, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to $250,000, or both.
Jail for man who helped others retain benefits of criminal conduct worth nearly $1m
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
FEB 23, 2024
SINGAPORE - A co-director and shareholder of a corporate services provider helped a person whom he had never met to incorporate several firms in Singapore.
Two of the companies – Temco Industrial and Integrated Invest – later received benefits of criminal conduct totalling more than US$734,000 (S$988,000) in 2017.
Tan Hock Keat’s offences came to light when the representatives of three other firms alerted the authorities after their companies were duped into transferring the amount to bank accounts belonging to Temco Industrial and Integrated Invest.
The 37-year-old Malaysian, who was working for DM Advisory at the time of the offences, was sentenced to three years, two months and six weeks’ jail on Feb 23.
He had pleaded guilty to five charges including two counts of helping other parties retain the benefits of criminal conduct.
A search with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) reveals that Tan was a director at two other firms – Global Flovo and Kattowaii. His Acra records had no details about DM Advisory, Temco Industrial and Integrated Invest.
Five Singaporean men linked to the case were dealt with in court earlier. They are: Jacob Sim Jun Chong, 31; Low Ruey Ming, 33; Wong Zhang Jie, 33; Phua Wee Hao, 35; and Wong Poh Kiong, 49.
In the current case, Tan was working for another firm in 2015 when he got to know one of its clients, known only as “George Clarke”.
Tan later started DM Advisory and continued to maintain a business relationship with Clarke. Details about Clarke’s identity were not disclosed in court documents.
Even though the pair had never met, Tan agreed to help Clarke incorporate several firms here.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yeo Zhen Xiong told the court that Tan and Phua, also known as Roy, had a business relationship.
In November 2016, the pair entered into an arrangement for Phua to recruit local nominee directors for Tan’s foreign clients, such as Clarke.
This was done to fulfil a regulatory requirement of having at least one director in the firm who is a Singapore resident.
As part of the arrangement, Tan would give Phua between $6,000 and $8,000 for each local nominee director. In March 2017, Phua introduced Low and Wong Zhang Jie to Tan.
Tan later told Phua and Low that Clarke needed help to incorporate Temco Industrial and set up bank accounts for it on behalf of one “Mark Lawrence”. The company was formed soon after.
In June and August 2017, representatives from two different firms lodged police reports after their companies were duped into transferring nearly US$690,000 to Temco’s bank account.
Scammers linked to these cases had impersonated actual business partners of these two companies.
DPP Yeo said that the scammers had sent e-mails from accounts which were designed to look very similar to those belonging to the pair.
Through e-mail, the scammers then cheated the two firms into transferring cash to Temco’s bank account.
The prosecutor said that out of the about US$690,000, only around US$7,200 was recovered. From this amount, one of the companies received about $200 while the other received more than $7,000.
As for the case involving Integrated Invest, the court heard that some time in 2017, Clarke asked for Tan’s help to incorporate the firm on behalf of one “Edward Hopkins”.
Phua then approached Wong Zhang Jie, who agreed to be Integrated Invest’s nominee director.
In July 2017, Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) received a complaint from a customer service specialist of a firm stating that her company had been fraudulently induced to transfer more than US$44,000 to Integrated Invest’s bank account.
CAD later seized the account and obtained a court order to return the full amount to the woman’s employer in August 2019.
Tan’s bail was set at $100,000 on Feb 23, and he was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on March 11 to begin serving his sentence.
Extradited S’pore resident who solicited at least $13m in investment scam pleads guilty in US
Singapore resident Shamoon Rafiq was extradited from Singapore with the assistance of the US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and other agencies. PHOTO: REUTERS
Ang Qing
FEB 27, 2024
A man who was previously convicted of fraudulently selling Google stocks has pleaded guilty to a similar scam where he posed as representatives from a billionaire family’s investment office.
On Feb 22, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement that Singapore resident Shamoon Rafiq had pleaded guilty to soliciting millions of dollars of investors’ money by lying that he could offer stocks from firms such as Airbnb before these were made available to the public.
In 2021, the Dutch national was charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan with defrauding investors by offering to sell them about US$9 million (S$12 million) in such fictitious securities.
The 50-year-old, who also goes by the names Shamoon Omer Rafiq, Omar Rafiq and Omer Rafiq, was previously convicted in 2004 of fraudulently offering investors access to “friends and family” shares in Google.
He was subsequently deported from the United States after serving a 41-month sentence for his crime.
In or about 2020, Rafiq launched a scheme from Singapore to dupe investment firms in New York and elsewhere into paying for alleged investment interests in various stocks in privately held companies that had not yet conducted an initial public offering (pre-IPO).
Under this scheme, he impersonated two senior officials of an investment firm of a “prominent billionaire family”, the statement said.
This involved creating a fake website, which automatically routed users to the investment firm’s official website, and creating e-mail addresses that resembled the senior officials’ genuine e-mail addresses.
Among investors that fell for the scheme was an investment firm based in New York and one of the firm’s foreign institutional clients, which wired about US$9 million in mid-August 2020 to an account in New York for anticipated release to a bank account in Singapore to pay Rafiq.
To perpetuate the scheme, Rafiq created and sent e-mails from the fake addresses, as well as fake contracts and deal documents purported to have been signed by the senior officials on behalf of the billionaire family’s office.
Rafiq also asked for and received about US$1 million from an investment group located in California in late 2020 after he had pretended to be a representative of the family office that was offering pre-IPO stock for sale.
He has agreed to pay restitution and forfeiture of the sum from the California investment group as part of his guilty plea.
For conspiring to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, Rafiq can be sentenced to up to five years in prison.
Said US attorney Damian Williams: “Shamoon Rafiq ran a brazen scheme from Singapore to defraud US investors who wished to invest in well-known private companies before they went public.
“This prosecution demonstrates the continued efforts of this office and our law enforcement partners to pursue those who defraud American investors, no matter where the perpetrators are located.”
Rafiq was extradited from Singapore with the assistance of the US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, Interpol, Singapore Police Force and Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore, according to the statement.
An AGC spokesperson said Rafiq had also pleaded guilty to cheating multiple victims in Singapore of more than $532,000 in Aug 24, 2023.
This included convincing two people – a neighbour and a friend – to buy shares that he did not own.
The spokesperson said: “Rafiq was sentenced to 45 months’ jail, which was backdated to when he was first remanded in April 2021.”
She added that Rafiq was handed over to the US authorities on Jan 11 after he completed his sentence, in response to an extradition request.
Jail for man who had a fight during F1 race while under probe for other violent offences
Samuel Devaraj
FEB 23, 2024
SINGAPORE - After committing violent offences, an Irishman based in Singapore left his job as a human resource professional but remained in the country on a special pass to assist with investigations.
During that time, Alan Michael Donoghue, 37, went to the Formula One (F1) race with his friends and ended up in a fight and punched a man.
Donoghue was sentenced to six months and five weeks’ jail on Feb 23 after he pleaded guilty to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt and one charge of voluntarily causing hurt which caused grievous hurt.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Maximilian Chew said Donoghue, who was a global team leader in a Singapore company at that time, was at East Coast Park on June 24, 2023, for his friend’s wedding party, during which he drank alcohol.
He left the party after midnight and went to a drop-off point to take a Grab ride home, but got into the wrong car.
The 32-year-old driver, who was there to pick up another passenger, told him to leave multiple times.
But Donoghue refused and hurled a vulgarity at the driver, who noticed that Donoghue was drunk and called the police.
A man, 38, and his wife approached the car and the driver informed them of the situation.
While the man and the driver were talking to each other, Donoghue alighted from the car and punched the driver on his face twice.
The other man, who was also drunk, tried to intervene, but Donoghue pinned him against the car and punched him on his face several times.
He then threw the man onto the ground and kicked him multiple times.
Donoghue was arrested at the scene and was released on personal bond on June 26, 2023.
The driver suffered a facial injury while the other man suffered multiple injuries including fractures in his nose.
On Sept 16, 2023, Donoghue and his three companions, including British national George Ernest Hyde, 37, were at the Padang together to watch the F1 race and concerts.
They also drank alcohol during the event. At about 10.30pm, they left the Padang and were walking along Connaught Drive.
At the same time, a 25-year-old man and his three companions were walking in the opposite direction.
Believing he saw Hyde touching one of his companions, the man immediately confronted him.
Upon seeing the confrontation, Donoghue went up to the 25-year-old man and began gesticulating aggressively at him.
Suddenly, Donoghue pushed him to the ground, and after he stood up, punched him on his face multiple times.
Shortly after, Special Operations Command officers who were close to the scene attended to the situation.
The victim suffered swelling and pain but did not seek medical attention.
Hyde has a pending molestation charge and his next court date is on March 7.
DPP Chew asked the court to sentence Donoghue to six to eight months’ and six to eight weeks’ jail.
He said the incident at the F1 race was evidence of Donoghue’s recalcitrance and disregard for the law.
He added that the incident occurred in a public area and would therefore likely have given rise to some public alarm.
Donoghue’s lawyer Derek Kang asked for 12 weeks’ jail for his client, saying that Donoghue started drinking in excess only in 2019 after a series of serious tragedies his family had suffered.
This included an incident in 2019 when his daughter suffered a serious injury while on an escalator in Singapore which permanently maimed her. Mr Kang said this affected his client’s relationship with his wife, as they both blamed each other for what happened.
For voluntarily causing hurt, Donoghue could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to $5,000, or both.
For voluntarily causing hurt that leads to grievous hurt, he could have been jailed for up to five years, fined up to $10,000, or both.
‘I feel blindsided’: No refunds for Sentosa sky lantern festival amid questions over its rescheduling
Some 2,000 people attended the Feb 21 event at Palawan Green on Sentosa, billed as Singapore’s first sky lantern festival, only to be informed that they would not be able to "fly" the lanterns as advertised. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Ang Qing
MAR 11, 2024
SINGAPORE – At least 15 complaints have been made against the Singapore Sky Lantern Festival’s organiser after it refused to refund attendees for the lift-off that never happened.
This comes after hundreds of ticket holders made their way to Sentosa for the festival on Feb 21, only to learn upon arrival that there was no food, nor lanterns taking off that night – both of which had been promised.
Days later, a representative of event organiser Asian Couture and Boutique said on Facebook that unhappy attendees can either resell their tickets, which cost about $50 each, or attend a rescheduled release on another day.
Ms Shiermie Bautista, who founded the firm, said in a Facebook post on Feb 27 that ticket holders can attend the rescheduled event around the first week of April.
She added: “For those who can’t attend the next event, you can resell your tickets at (ticketing platform) TicketSwap.”
However, Asian Couture and Boutique’s director Steven Lau said on Feb 29 that a final decision on the event organiser’s next steps has yet to be made, and the firm is still collecting feedback from its customers.
There are also question marks over the rescheduled event, with the authorities telling The Straits Times the same day that there has been no information on its date or venue.
A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesperson said it is still following up with the organiser on the details and the implementation of the fire safety guidelines, and has yet to give any clearance for the rescheduled event.
Previously, SCDF had not allowed the organiser to release sky lanterns, after a site inspection on the day of the festival showed that fire safety guidelines had not been adhered to.
The spokesperson said: “They did not provide proper tethers for the sky lanterns, nor fire extinguishers, or safety marshals.
“Therefore, in the interest of public and aviation safety, SCDF informed the event organiser that they should not use the sky lanterns for the event.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore’s director for airspace policy Jean Yee said the authority was aware of the intent to reschedule the event, but as at Feb 28, no details on the date, venue and how the event will be executed have been shared.
More than 2,000 people had turned up for the festival on Feb 21, according to Mr Lau.
Some disappointed ticket holders, like first-year university student Tan Jun Wei, 23, simply want their money back.
The 23-year-old said he no longer trusts the organiser due to its unprofessional behaviour.
He said: “Even though they had our contact information, they didn’t inform us about the delay to the lift-off until we got there... They basically left us in the dark.”
The event organiser said attendees would not be able to release the sky lanterns but would be given LED candles and a pen to their wishes on the lanterns. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Mr Tan had forked out more than $100 for two tickets, hoping the event would be a key part of a Valentine’s Day surprise for his girlfriend, who is a fan of the iconic scene from the Disney film Tangled, where the protagonists share a romantic moment while watching lanterns float up into the sky.
But all attendees got that night were grounded lanterns lit by LED lights, as the organiser was not permitted to fly lanterns with open flames.
Added Mr Tan: “I feel blindsided. I thought the event would be reliable because it was publicised on multiple news sites, and it was hosted on Sentosa.”
Checks by ST found that Ms Bautista’s phone number is linked to a cancelled sky lantern festival in Dubai that was meant to take place in 2023. The event, which appeared to have been postponed due to last-minute issues, had also hawked tickets for about $50 each.
People queueing to get to the registration counter at the Singapore Sky Lantern Festival on Sentosa on Feb 21. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
In response to queries, a Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) spokeswoman told ST the statutory board was disappointed to hear that the event organiser had backtracked on the initial decision to provide refunds.
“As this is a third-party event, the event organiser makes the final decision to issue refunds or to reschedule,” she added.
She said Asian Couture and Boutique has since contacted SDC about holding a similar event, and that SDC had in response reminded it of the need to apply for the necessary licences and permits, and fulfil requirements from the authorities.
Upset attendees speaking to event staff at the Singapore Sky Lantern Festival on Sentosa on Feb 21. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) president Melvin Yong said the association is engaging with the event organiser to get a full refund for affected consumers, after receiving 15 complaints to date.
He said: “In general, consumers complained that the segment involving the release of sky lanterns was marketed as the highlight of the event and this was cancelled without prior notice.”
Mr Yong urged affected consumers to contact Case for help at its hotline on 6277-5100 or on its website.
Nearly 6 years’ jail for serial scammer who cheated victims of more than $1m
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
FEB 28, 2024
SINGAPORE – A serial investment scammer cheated four people of more than $1 million between 2018 and 2020.
Chew Mui Lang’s victims suffered losses totalling some $694,000, after she returned more than $335,000 to them.
The 59-year-old Malaysian was sentenced to five years and 10 months’ jail on Feb 27 after she pleaded guilty to four charges, including two counts of cheating involving more than $886,000.
Six other charges, including those linked to the remaining amount, were considered during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Kai said that around 2011, Chew started operating a firm that provided beauty services.
The business did not do well about six years later, and she turned to an unlicensed moneylender, known only as Lucas, for an undisclosed amount of loans.
Lucas later asked Chew if she wanted to be part of his “moneylending investment” known as King’s Credit.
Chew was told that she would be paid her principal investment sum and a 10 per cent profit over a 10-week period.
DPP Ng said: “Out of greed for the fast cash, the accused began approaching customers and friends to invest monies (in the) company.”
In 2017, Chew approached an acquaintance and asked if she was interested to invest in what she called Credit King.
Chew claimed that Lucas was her cousin and he was the firm’s co-owner.
Among other things, Chew promised the woman that she would receive the principal sum plus profit on a weekly basis, for a period of 10 weeks.
The victim then agreed to invest in Credit King.
However, Chew had no intention of using the woman’s money for investments. Instead, she wanted to use it to repay her creditors.
Over more than 30 occasions between Jan 2 and Dec 24, 2018, the victim handed more than $742,000 to Chew.
Within the same period, Chew gave her nearly $245,000 in total as purported returns.
The DPP said: “In fact, these sums were derived from monies obtained from other investors who handed monies to the accused to conduct investments for them or from unlicensed moneylenders whom she had taken loans from.”
By using a similar method, Chew duped a second woman of nearly $144,000 over at least five occasions between Oct 10 and Nov 8, 2018.
Chew then gave her around $6,300 as purported returns.
Both victims made police reports after they failed to receive the full amount of their investments
Chew herself was duped by Lucas.
She invested $100,000 with him around 2018, after borrowing money from her customers and friends.
He became uncontactable soon after.
On Sept 24, 2020, a police officer recorded a statement from Chew, who claimed that Lucas was her cousin from Malaysia.
She also told the officer that Lucas was employed as a clerk in a moneylending firm called King’s Credit but resigned in 2017.
The police conducted their checks but could not find any firm with such a name.
According to court documents, there was a company called Credit King, but it had never employed Lucas.
Chew finally admitted in January 2021 that she had given false information to the authorities in 2020.
The Indian must have had a very bad odor.
He said the last time he brushed his teeth was just before he arrived in Singapore 4 years ago.
What an arsehole.
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