A LOW-RANKING Chinese official invested $1.5 million to help him gain Singapore permanent residency - despite earning the equivalent of only $600 a month.
Li Huabo is said to have embezzled large sums from his country's coffers, in a case that has scandalised citizens in China.
The 50-year-old was arrested here last year after apparently going on the run. He was later charged with receiving a total of $182,723 in stolen money.
On the first day of his trial yesterday, the court heard that Li was earning 3,000 yuan (S$586) a month as a section director at Jiangxi province's Poyang county's financial bureau.
However, he managed to invest $1.5 million in an approved fund in 2010 to help him qualify as a permanent resident (PR) as part of the Economic Development Board's Global Investor Programme. He and his family were granted PR status in November that year.
The prosecution alleges that Li hid the fact he was a Chinese official while trying to get permanent residency.
Mr Edwin Shieh, who runs the company that helped him apply, said Li had not once revealed that he worked for the Chinese government. Instead, he allegedly claimed he was the general manager of a firm called Jingdezhen Jingyu New Energy Development.
Mr Shieh, general manager of ADH Migration & Education Services, agreed under cross-examination that Li could have hidden his true occupation because it was considered illegal in China for a government official to apply for permanent residency in another country. He added that around January last year, Li phoned him to ask, in general terms, if his PR status would be affected if he was involved in a "major matter" in China. But the conversation was never finished because the call was cut short by poor reception.
Li was arrested by the Commercial Affairs Department last year over $182,723 which was allegedly transferred from a Chinese company into his United Overseas Bank account using a Singapore remittance firm.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Luke Tan told the court that the funds represented the proceeds of crime. At the time of his arrest, Li was also wanted by Interpol and the Chinese authorities.
Police officer Leslie Low Keng Yong, who investigated the case, told the court that Li had asked him not to tell the Chinese Embassy in Singapore that he had been arrested.
Li, who was represented in court by lawyer Subhas Anandan, is reportedly suspected of siphoning off the equivalent of $18 million in total from his country's coffers over a five-year period.
The case has sparked outrage in China, with people asking how a low-ranking official could have made off with such a large amount.
The trial continues today.
[email protected]
Li Huabo is said to have embezzled large sums from his country's coffers, in a case that has scandalised citizens in China.
The 50-year-old was arrested here last year after apparently going on the run. He was later charged with receiving a total of $182,723 in stolen money.
On the first day of his trial yesterday, the court heard that Li was earning 3,000 yuan (S$586) a month as a section director at Jiangxi province's Poyang county's financial bureau.
However, he managed to invest $1.5 million in an approved fund in 2010 to help him qualify as a permanent resident (PR) as part of the Economic Development Board's Global Investor Programme. He and his family were granted PR status in November that year.
The prosecution alleges that Li hid the fact he was a Chinese official while trying to get permanent residency.
Mr Edwin Shieh, who runs the company that helped him apply, said Li had not once revealed that he worked for the Chinese government. Instead, he allegedly claimed he was the general manager of a firm called Jingdezhen Jingyu New Energy Development.
Mr Shieh, general manager of ADH Migration & Education Services, agreed under cross-examination that Li could have hidden his true occupation because it was considered illegal in China for a government official to apply for permanent residency in another country. He added that around January last year, Li phoned him to ask, in general terms, if his PR status would be affected if he was involved in a "major matter" in China. But the conversation was never finished because the call was cut short by poor reception.
Li was arrested by the Commercial Affairs Department last year over $182,723 which was allegedly transferred from a Chinese company into his United Overseas Bank account using a Singapore remittance firm.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Luke Tan told the court that the funds represented the proceeds of crime. At the time of his arrest, Li was also wanted by Interpol and the Chinese authorities.
Police officer Leslie Low Keng Yong, who investigated the case, told the court that Li had asked him not to tell the Chinese Embassy in Singapore that he had been arrested.
Li, who was represented in court by lawyer Subhas Anandan, is reportedly suspected of siphoning off the equivalent of $18 million in total from his country's coffers over a five-year period.
The case has sparked outrage in China, with people asking how a low-ranking official could have made off with such a large amount.
The trial continues today.
[email protected]
