Marketing manager jailed 11 months for corruption
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 21 Jun 2013 11:38 PM
SINGAPORE: A former marketing manager from Sony Electronics was sentenced to 11 months' jail and ordered to pay a penalty of S$855,000 on Friday.
Pheh Boon Leng, 46, was a senior manager who headed Sony’s Asia-Pacific marketing team.
Pheh, who was dismissed in 2006 for unauthorised selling of the company's products, admitted to 19 counts of corruption. The prosecution proceeded on eight of them.
The father-of-three pocketed close to S$979,000 between 2003 and 2004.
Pheh had devised a scheme to sell Sony products to two unauthorised dealers in Indonesia - owner of Kencana Jaya, Acing, and Agus Handaja, owner of PD Yanco.
Under Sony's rules, products are to be sold to the authorised distributor of a country if the firm has no presence there.
Pheh however made arrangements with Acing and Handaja to export Sony products to them; the accused had wanted to meet his sales targets and increase his bonuses.
To conceal his tracks, Pheh roped in Marc Van Agten, Sony's marketing manager overseeing Australia and New Zealand. The accused would send invoices for the goods through Van Agten.
Pheh would receive 30 per cent of the total sales value of each shipment sent to Kencaya Jaya or PD Yanco under the scheme. The remaining 70 per cent would be distributed amongst Sony Singapore, Sony ANZ (Australia and New Zealand) and two other firms which acted as facilitators.
Court documents stated that Acing, Handaja and Van Agten are nowhere to be found.
The prosecution said that Pheh caused Sony Singapore to lose an estimated US$3 million over three years.
In sentencing, District Judge Mathew Joseph noted that Pheh had no previous criminal record and that he was remorseful.
The judge however said that Pheh held a senior position and abused the trust in him.
Judge Joseph added that the scheme was "sophisticated" and that Pheh drew others in to help carry it out over "a lengthy period" of almost two years.
Besides being damaging to the commerce and reputation of the industry, the judge pointed out that the case had a "wide reach" as it involved individuals from Indonesia and Australia.
The judge stressed that this is one of the more significant private sector corruption cases in recent times, and that it was a "timely" reminder that corruption will inevitably result in a higher price than one is prepared to pay.
- CNA/jc
