OK Lim's daughter hauled to court for allegedly telling staff to ensure deleted data cannot be recovered
THE crisis deepened for the family of Singapore's fallen oil legend Lim Oon Kuin of the Hin Leong empire as his daughter became the latest to feel the brunt of the city-state's regulators.
Lim Huey Ching, 54, director of collapsed giant oil trader Hin Leong Trading (HLT), was charged in the State Courts with one count of obstructing the course of justice.
The Singapore police, in a statement, said investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department into Hin Leong revealed that around April 13 last year, Lim Huey Ching had allegedly instructed a Hin Leong employee to ensure that deleted items from the company's computer servers could not be recovered, and to permanently dispose of previous backups of information on the servers.
Such instructions allegedly took place at a time when Hin Leong was facing probable civil or criminal proceedings, it said.
At the hearing, deputy public prosecutor G Kannan sought a bail of S$70,000, given that the offence was non-bailable. Its seriousness is also reflected by the maximum penalty of seven years in prison, he added.
Lim Huey Ching, he claimed, thwarted justice by allegedly instructing that records pertaining to the affairs of HLT be deleted. Her father, who helmed the company then, has been charged with 130 counts of cheating and forgery-related offences that have led banks to suffer US$292 million losses.
"All this paints a picture on the seriousness of the offence," he stressed.
Lim Huey Ching's counsel Christopher Anand of Advocatus Law submitted for a lower bail of S$20,000 instead, citing that the quantum sought by the prosecution was "way too high".
"She is not a high flight risk. Her family is here. Her prospective bailor is her mother," he said, adding that for those reasons, she was not going to abscond.
He added furthermore that her passport has been withheld by the Commercial Affairs Department since last year.
District Judge Terence Tay set bail at S$50,000. He surmised that even though the offence she was being charged with is not minor, it is not as severe as the charges levelled against OK Lim. The bail amount, he said, would therefore be adequate.
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