2 probed for $11.8m fraud

[Hanzo Kattori]

Ho was "puppet" in SLA fraud case: defence
By Shaffiq Alkhatib | Posted: 07 January 2011 1959 hrs
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SINGAPORE: Ho Yen Teck, the former swimming instructor who has pleaded guilty to his role in the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) cheating case, was just a puppet, his lawyer told the court on Friday.

Ho, 31, is the first of eight men to admit that he was part of the scam.

His lawyer, Jackson Eng, said Ho did not make a substantial gain in the scam that involved more than S$12m.

The lawyer stressed that Ho only received some S$200,000 in the conspiracy, which Mr Eng said was masterminded by two of SLA's former senior executives, Koh Seah Wee and Lim Chai Meng.

Ho pleaded guilty to 21 charges on 15 December last year. He originally faced 195 charges involving S$9,796,194 but the remaining ones were taken into consideration.

Ho had conspired with 40-year-old Koh and 37-year-old Lim to deceive the SLA into paying the monies to his seven sole proprietorships.

The slim and fair complexioned Ho did this by using fake invoices, without delivering any work to the agency.

The court heard that the SLA disbursed the payments between January 2008 and March last year.

In his mitigation, Mr Eng told District Judge Jasbendar Kaur that Ho's role was a minor one in the conspiracy.

The lawyer pleaded for leniency saying the ruse was only able to succeed as Koh and Lim had abused their positions within the SLA.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jean Chan pressed for a deterrent sentence to "quell the public disquiet and unease that has been generated".

She told the court that the offences were committed against a public institution over a substantial period.

This resulted in a loss of what Ms Chan referred to as an "astronomically large sum of public funds".

She also highlighted that most of the agency's losses - some 80 per cent - were attributed to Ho's companies.

The greater the quantum of loss caused, the greater the sentence should be, said Ms Chan.

Ho will be sentenced next Friday. He can be jailed up to 10 years for each charge.

- CNA/ir

 

[Hanzo Kattori]

Ho gets 10-year jail term for role in SLA fraud case
By S Ramesh | Posted: 14 January 2011 1604 hrs
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SINGAPORE: A former swimming instructor, who pleaded guilty to his role in the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) cheating case, has been sentenced to 2 years' jail for each of the 21 charges he had pleaded guilty to.

But the sentence runs consecutively for only five of the charges and concurrently for the remaining. That means Ho Yen Teck, 31, will serve 10 years' jail in total.

Ho was the first of eight men to admit he was part of the scam involving S$9,796,194.

He pleaded guilty to 21 charges in December last year, with another 174 charges taken into consideration.

Ho had conspired with 40-year-old Koh Seah Wee and 37-year-old Lim Chai Meng to deceive the SLA into paying the monies to his seven sole proprietorships.

The accused did this by using fake invoices, without delivering any work to the agency.

The court heard that the SLA disbursed the payments between January 2008 and March 2009.

In his mitigation, Ho's lawyer Jackson Eng told District Judge Jasbendar Kaur that his client's role was a minor one in the conspiracy.

The lawyer pleaded for leniency saying the ruse was only able to succeed as Koh and Lim had abused their positions within the SLA.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jean Chan pressed for a deterrent sentence to "quell the public disquiet and unease that has been generated".

She told the court that the offences were committed against a public institution over a substantial period. This resulted in a loss of what Ms Chan referred to as an "astronomically large sum of public funds".

She also highlighted that most of the agency's losses - some 80 per cent - were attributed to Ho's companies.

In passing sentence, District Judge Jasbender Kaur noted that Ho was the first offender who admitted guilt at the earliest opportunity.

However, she said there were several serious aggravating circumstances, such as the fact that Ho had set up several entities to commit the crime and that he continued with the fraud for a long time.

So the Judge stressed that the sentence meted out must reflect his role in the elaborate scam that involved cheating a public institution. She also said the plans would have failed if not for Ho's participation.

Ho's jail term has been backdated to October 6 last year, the day he was remanded.

- CNA/fa/al

 

[Hanzo Kattori]

Jan 14, 2011

SLA $12m scam: 10 years' jail for ex-swim coach

By Elena Chong

Ho, who had pleaded guilty to 21 of 195 counts, could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined on each charge. -- PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

THE first man to plead guilty in the Singapore Land Authority $12 million scam was given 10 years' jail by a district court on Friday.

Ho Yen Teck, 31, a former swimming instructor, had set up seven sole proprietorships in a conspiracy with two others to deceive the statutory board into paying for fictitious IT maintenance services and goods which were not delivered.

The transactions took place between January 2008 and March 2010. His share in the conspiracy was about $200,000.

The court was told that almost 80 per cent of the total payments by SLA for the fake transactions was made to Ho's seven companies totalling $9.8 million.

Ho's alleged accomplices, former SLA deputy director Koh Seah Wee, 40, and ex-manager Lim Chai Meng, 37, have since been charged and their cases are at the pre-trial stages.

Five others have also been hauled to court. Their cases are also pending. The prosecution had urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, citing several aggravating factors.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jean Chan had said that the offences were committed against a public institution over a substantial period of time, resulting in the loss of an astronomical sum of public funds.

Ho's role, she added, was pivotal. The offences undermined the integrity of the public procurement process, she said. Neither did Ho make full restitution.District Judge Jasbendar Kaur agreed with the prosecution that a stiff sentence was clearly warranted.

She felt that Ho's role was significant and without his participation and active facilitation, the elaborate and well-planned fraud would not have been successful.

Ho, who had pleaded guilty to 21 of 195 counts, could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined on each charge. His sentence was backdated to his remand on Oct 6 last year.

 

[Vega.]

Apr 11, 2011

Second man in SLA scam jailed three years

By Elena Chong

Anthony Xavier Foo Doon Tong, 43, then a partner of Ribbons and Rolls Marketing Services (R&R), is the second person to be convicted and sentenced. -- ST PHOTO: GEORGE GASCON

A MAN who conspired with two employees of Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to cheat the statutory board of about $297,000 was jailed for three years on Monday.

Anthony Xavier Foo Doon Tong, 43, then a partner of Ribbons and Rolls Marketing Services (R&R), is the second person to be convicted and sentenced.

In January this year, former swim coach Ho Yen Teck, 31, who benefited about $200,000 for his role in the conspiracy, was jailed for 10 years. He had admitted to 21 of 195 charges.

Foo pleaded guilty to 10 of 45 charges of abetting with SLA deputy director of technology and infrastructure department Koh Seah Wee, 40, and SLA manager Lim Chai Meng, 37, to deceive SLA into paying between $2,032 and $63,847 under contracts for which work was not done in 2007 and 2009.

Of the $297,000 involved, his share was about $94,500.

The cases against Koh and Lim have been moved to the High Court while the cases of six other contractors are still in pre-trial stages in the lower court.

CASE BACKGROUND:

The court heard that Foo was roped in in October 2007 by Lim into the conspiracy as a 'vendor''. Once transactions were awarded and paid to R&R, Foo would be given a cut of the payment made by the SLA.

Other than preparing invoices according to Lim's instructions, Foo knew that the firm would not need to do any work for the SLA to get payment.

Foo agreed to the arrangement and concurrently entered into both legitimate and fictitious small value purchase transactions with the SLA.

He could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined for each offence committed before February 2008, and up to 10 years and fined on each of two other charges after 2008.

 

[youallhumsup]

Former SLA officers plead guilty in $12m fraud case

Published on Oct 28, 2011



Former SLA deputy director of technology and infrastructure, Koh Seah Wee (above), 41, and ex-manager Lim Chai Meng, 38, admitted to 55 and 49 charges respectively. -- PHOTO: INTERNET

By Elena Chong

Two former officers of Singapore Land Authority (SLA) admitted their guilt in the High Court on Friday to conspiracy to cheat and money laundering charges.

The pair, Koh Seah Wee, 41, former deputy director of technology and infrastructure in SLA , and ex-manager Lim Chai Meng, 38, admitted to 55 and 49 charges respectively.

Of the $12.2 million involved, about $7.5 million has been recovered from Koh.

The pair admitted to colluding with ex-swim coach Ho Yen Teck to cheat the authority by rendering false invoices through various business entities for fake IT maintenance services and goods which were not delivered.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.
​

 

[JohnnyQuid]

Wah lau...and Jah Rastafar, Clinton 666 and coolio always thot it was the m&ds who commit most of the crime in Singapore..Hey you 3 guys in ur mudderland of People's Republic of Cunts, these scumbags would have been executed.. why so silent coolio ?? please comment..dying to hear from u...

 

[youallhumsup]

Former SLA employees jailed for cheating, money laundering
By Sara Grosse | Posted: 04 November 2011 1529 hrs

Two former SLA officers, Koh Seah Wee (left) and Lim Chai Meng masterminded one of the largest public-sector fraud cases in Singapore and were jailed for 22 years and 15 years respectively on Friday.-- PHOTO: SPF​

SINGAPORE: Two former Singapore Land Authority (SLA) employees were sentenced to imprisonment on Friday.

41-year-old James Koh Seah Wee was sentenced to a total of 22 years jail for both cheating and money laundering.

His accomplice, 38-year-old Christopher Lim Chai Meng, was sentenced to 15 years jail, also for cheating and money laundering.

The former SLA employees had pleaded guilty to pilfering S$12.5 million from government coffers.

Koh and Lim rendered bogus invoices through various IT firms for fake maintenance services and goods that were never needed or delivered.

The fraud was uncovered in June when investigations showed a number of irregular payments worth some S$12 million within SLA's Technology and Infrastructure Department. The payments took place place between January 2008 and March 2010.

Justice Tay Yong Kwang told the court that offences involving public funds committed against public institutions have to be dealt with sternly as they undermine good administration.

He said financial crimes like these often have repercussions beyond the immediate facts of the case. He added that new and more stringent checks may also have to be introduced to try to prevent a repeat of such cheating. This, he said, would result in unnecessary increased costs in time, manpower and even infrastructure.

Justice Tay said a clear distinction had to be drawn between those who break the law for the first time, and those who had been flouting it for years and were charged for the first time. He added Koh and Lim were not novices in crime and were skilled at avoiding detection.

While the judge singled out Koh as naturally bearing more blame, being the more senior officer and having cheated three public bodies while working within them, he did not diminish Lim's role, who cheated only one public body, saying the duo relied on each other for the deception.

Lawyer Subhas Anandan, who represented Lim Chai Meng, said: "I think the sentence is fair and our client has told us he is not appealing, I think he's accepted the sentence."

Justice Tay said he did not agree with the prosecution's description of Koh and Lim as "highly sophisticated criminals", saying they did not try to camouflage their huge cash reserves.

He called both Koh and Lim's purchase of super fast cars, like the Lamborghini and Ferrari, "egoistic acts". He said they were carelessly inviting questions about their new-found wealth and were hardly "sophisticated money launderers".

Both Lim and Koh assisted in police investigations, and some S$9 million in money and assets have been recovered so far.

- CNA/cc/ac