15 months' jail for ex-MFA official who cooked up tart claims

[SINGAPORE] Lim Cheng Hoe, the former chief of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), was yesterday sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty on Monday to 10 charges of cheating the ministry by making fictitious pineapple tart claims.

The 61-year-old public service veteran, however, was not taken away immediately. He now has 14 days to decide if he wants to appeal the sentence.

Lim's lawyer, Philip Fong of Harry Elias Partnership, said that his client will be taking the time to consider his options, though he added that Lim would "like to put this behind him as soon as possible".