PROSECUTORS on Tuesday (Nov 21) suggested that fallen oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin had told “calculated lies” to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) across a series of interviews, and used his medical conditions as an “excuse to undermine the value” of certain statements he made to the authorities. 

Better known as OK Lim, the founder of oil trader Hin Leong returned to the stand for the seventh day on Tuesday, where he faces some 130 charges of forgery and cheating in the criminal trial.

Resuming the cross-examination, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Christopher Ong took Lim through a series of interviews that he attended with the CAD, and the statements that were recorded from those interviews. Lim said his mental condition was “not good” at the time, due to his old age, other health issues and “various pressures”. He added that he would become confused if the interviews lasted for longer than 30 minutes. 

DPP Ong asked Lim why he had not signed one of the statements that had been recorded during his interview with investigation officer (IO) Sim Wan Lin, despite being aware that it could be considered an offence not to sign such a statement. 

“I told her that my mental state is like this,” said Lim. “I told her that when I’m better, I will come back and give a statement.” 

Earlier in the hearing, Lim had claimed that he was in a “bad shape” at the time of that particular interview, and was “confused and could not remember” certain details.  

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IO Sim had then reportedly consulted her superior, and Lim was allowed to leave the interview without signing the statement. 

DPP Ong noted that Lim had requested for a handwritten note to be added to one of the questions in the interview about his poor health condition at that time, which was reflected in the statement submitted to the court.

But the court heard that Lim did not sign against the handwritten note. He also did not sign the statement after it had been read back to him by IO Sim. 

“I put it to you that during the recording of the first statement, you were perfectly able to concentrate and comprehend what was going on,” said DPP Ong. Lim disagreed.

“I put it to you that your amendment to the answer and the refusal to sign the statement were a conscious attempt to give yourself an excuse if the statement were to be used against you,” DPP Ong suggested. Lim again disagreed. 

DPP Ong then went on to another statement that Lim gave the CAD on Jun 22, 2020. Lim had signed this statement, as well as the amendments in the statement. 

Lim said he had told IO Sim that he could not recall who Freddy Tan and Chee Li Li – two of Hin Leong’s former employees – were. This was in response to a question from IO Sim on whether Lim had instructed them to e-mail two contracts pertaining to sales to China Aviation Oil and Unipec Singapore to Hin Leong’s treasury department before sending them to the buyer companies. 

Both Tan and Chee testified in court that they had forged documents related to the sale of oil to China Aviation Oil and Unipec on the back of instructions from Lim.  

“IO Sim (told me that) my staff are still young, and have a good future ahead of them. So I didn’t want to say anything that would hurt them,” Lim said. 

“I put it to you that because you were unprepared for your former employees implicating you in these offences, you decided to simply answer ‘I cannot recall’ to all these questions as a way out,” said DPP Ong.

DPP Ong also suggested that Lim’s responses to certain questions in that interview were “calculated lies to buy time” because he did not know how to answer IO Sim’s questions. Lim disagreed. 

Attempting to pin down Lim’s inconsistencies with signing statements during interviews with the CAD, DPP Ong also said Lim was trying to use his medical conditions as “an excuse to undermine the value” of his statements that were recorded during his interviews with the CAD. 

“I put it to you that from the time you were giving all these statements, right up to now in court, you are simply using your medical conditions as an excuse to evade what you have said in the statements,” said DPP Ong. Lim disagreed. 

“Sometimes, there are exceptional situations. We are not machines, it does not work like clockwork,” Lim said.

The criminal trial resumes on Wednesday, with Justice Toh Han Li presiding over the case.