SINGAPORE: The High Court on Wednesday (Feb 19) extended the jail term of the former CEO of a timber flooring firm who cheated banks into disbursing over S$2 million (US$1.5 million) in loans.
Jason Sim Chon Ang, the founder of the now-defunct Jason Parquet Specialist, was convicted in 2023 on five charges of cheating, but acquitted of a charge under the Companies Act. He was sentenced to three years' jail.
After appeals by both the prosecution and Sim, the High Court on Wednesday overturned his acquittal and enhanced his jail sentence to three years and eight months, the police said in a news release.
From 2012 to 2015, Sim applied for loans from three banks – DBS, Standard Chartered and Maybank – using false invoices and delivery orders for timber.
The falsified documents were prepared by a supplier, Tati Trading, which led the banks to disburse a total of S$2,035,000 to the company.
The documents were prepared on the instructions of Tjioe Chi Minh, a managing director at Tati at the time of the offences.
In one of the five fraudulent applications, a bank was deceived into paying S$535,000 to Tati in September 2012.
Tjioe used the money to subscribe for 2.5 million shares in the initial public offering of Jason Parquet Holdings.
For this, Sim faced the charge under the Companies Act.
Tjioe faced five counts of abetment of cheating and was acquitted in 2023.
After the appeals, Sim’s and Tjioe’s acquittals were overturned. Tjioe was sentenced to jail for two years and six months.
The High Court found that Sim "possessed the dishonest intention to cheat the banks", the police said.
It also rejected Tjioe's defence that he was unaware that the false documents would be used for an improper purpose. The documents were prepared on his instructions, with full knowledge that they would be used to obtain fraudulent loans.
The High Court found that the illegal payment to Tjioe was used to fund the subscription of shares of Jason Parquet Holdings, and that the prosecution had proven its case by showing that there had been a depletion of Jason Parquet Specialist’s assets.
According to the police, the High Court found that a heavier sentence for Sim was necessary to "protect Singapore's financial ecosystem" and because Sim had "carefully orchestrated" the fraud for his personal benefit.
Sim still faces 11 cheating charges for allegedly perpetrating a similar fraud with three other suppliers to cheat banks into providing loans of over S$2.5 million.
There is also another charge for allegedly providing illegal financial assistance to one of the three suppliers to subscribe for shares in Jason Parquet Holdings’ initial public offering.
The suppliers are alleged to have intentionally aided Sim in the invoice financing fraud and face between one and nine charges each.
Court proceedings are underway, the police said.
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Jason Sim Chon Ang, the founder of the now-defunct Jason Parquet Specialist, was convicted in 2023 on five charges of cheating, but acquitted of a charge under the Companies Act. He was sentenced to three years' jail.
After appeals by both the prosecution and Sim, the High Court on Wednesday overturned his acquittal and enhanced his jail sentence to three years and eight months, the police said in a news release.
WHAT HAPPENED
From 2012 to 2015, Sim applied for loans from three banks – DBS, Standard Chartered and Maybank – using false invoices and delivery orders for timber.
The falsified documents were prepared by a supplier, Tati Trading, which led the banks to disburse a total of S$2,035,000 to the company.
The documents were prepared on the instructions of Tjioe Chi Minh, a managing director at Tati at the time of the offences.
In one of the five fraudulent applications, a bank was deceived into paying S$535,000 to Tati in September 2012.
Tjioe used the money to subscribe for 2.5 million shares in the initial public offering of Jason Parquet Holdings.
For this, Sim faced the charge under the Companies Act.
Tjioe faced five counts of abetment of cheating and was acquitted in 2023.
After the appeals, Sim’s and Tjioe’s acquittals were overturned. Tjioe was sentenced to jail for two years and six months.
Related:
The High Court found that Sim "possessed the dishonest intention to cheat the banks", the police said.
It also rejected Tjioe's defence that he was unaware that the false documents would be used for an improper purpose. The documents were prepared on his instructions, with full knowledge that they would be used to obtain fraudulent loans.
The High Court found that the illegal payment to Tjioe was used to fund the subscription of shares of Jason Parquet Holdings, and that the prosecution had proven its case by showing that there had been a depletion of Jason Parquet Specialist’s assets.
According to the police, the High Court found that a heavier sentence for Sim was necessary to "protect Singapore's financial ecosystem" and because Sim had "carefully orchestrated" the fraud for his personal benefit.
Sim still faces 11 cheating charges for allegedly perpetrating a similar fraud with three other suppliers to cheat banks into providing loans of over S$2.5 million.
There is also another charge for allegedly providing illegal financial assistance to one of the three suppliers to subscribe for shares in Jason Parquet Holdings’ initial public offering.
The suppliers are alleged to have intentionally aided Sim in the invoice financing fraud and face between one and nine charges each.
Court proceedings are underway, the police said.
Continue reading...