Jail for man who took S$330k after encashing cheques pre-signed by pair in S$3 billion money laundering case
HE WAS working as a personal assistant to Su Haijin, one of the men involved in a S$3 billion money laundering case, when he misappropriated S$100,000 after encashing or depositing four cheques which the latter had pre-signed.
Singaporean Tan Yong Ren also made off with another S$230,000 after performing similar transactions involving seven more cheques pre-signed by Su Baolin, another man linked to the same money laundering case.
Su Baolin was a director at a firm called Xinbao Investment Holdings, and around February 2018, Tan took a debit card linked to the firm’s bank account and unlawfully withdrew S$107,300 over 93 occasions later that year.
On Friday (Jul 5), Tan, 34, was sentenced to four years and two weeks’ jail, and fined S$10,000.
He had pleaded guilty to six charges for offences including criminal breach of trust, theft and using criminal force on another person.
Cypriot national Su Haijin, then 41, who jumped from the second-floor balcony of a Good Class Bungalow during a police raid, was sentenced to 14 months’ jail on Apr 4.
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Cambodian national Su Baolin, then 42, was also sentenced to 14 months’ jail on Apr 29.
For the current case, Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew told the court that at the time of the offences, Su Haijin was the director of a firm called Yihao Cyber Technologies.
Around March 2017, he employed Tan as his personal assistant at the company. Tan’s job scope included running errands and banking in cheques.
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As part of his job, he helped Su Haijin write cheques as the latter could not write in English.
The DPP said: “(Su Haijin) would sign on the company’s cheques and tear them out for (Tan) to fill in the details. These cheques were meant to be used for payments related to the company’s business.”
But on four occasions between Dec 6, 2017, and Apr 30, 2018, Tan took the cheques that Su Haijin had pre-signed and filled in his own particulars on them.
After that, Tan would either encash the cheques or deposit the amounts stated on them into his own bank account, making off with S$100,000 in total from Yihao Cyber Technologies.
Around January 2018, Su Haijin introduced Tan to his friend Su Baolin, who was then setting up a business in Singapore and needed an English-speaking assistant.
Tan then began assisting Su Baolin, performing tasks including helping the latter fill in cheques.
On seven occasions between Jan 31 and Jun 14, 2018, Tan would either encash the cheques that Su Baolin had pre-signed or deposit the amounts stated on them to his own bank account, making off with S$230,000 in total from Xinbao Investment Holdings.
Around February 2018, Tan came across a letter addressed to Su Baolin containing a debit card linked to the company’s bank account.
Tan took the card, went to various ATMs and withdrew S$107,300 in total from Apr 4 to Jul 21 that year.
Tan has made no restitution for his offences linked to Su Baolin and Su Haijin.
In an unrelated case, the authorities raided an industrial unit in Kaki Bukit Road at around 1 am on Aug 8, 2021, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and found that it was used as an illegal karaoke lounge.
Tan, who was found on the premises, told officers involved in the operation that he was the sole operator of the place.
DPP Chew said: “He admitted that from June 2021, he had rented the... basement unit of the premises for S$3,000 per month, and started operating an illegal karaoke lounge there.”
The authorities conducted another raid at a house at around 12.15 am on Dec 15, 2021, and found that 20 people, including Tan, were involved in a social gathering there.
Separately, the court heard that Tan also pulled the hair of his 37-year-old housemate in the wee hours of Mar 19, 2022.
Tan was unhappy with the woman after she knocked on his room door to complain about the noise.
Tan’s bail was set at S$50,000 on Friday, and he was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on Jul 15 to begin serving his sentence. THE STRAITS TIMES
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