FOUR MEN ARRESTED AND SIX PERSONS INVESTIGATED FOR THEIR SUSPECTED INVOLVEMENT IN MONEY LAUNDERING ACTIVITIES LINKED TO RENTAL SCAMS

In an island-wide enforcement operation conducted on 5 and 6 December 2022, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department arrested four men, aged between 16 and 50, for their suspected involvement in money laundering activities. Another three men and three women, aged between 21 and 40, are being investigated for their suspected involvement in the money laundering activities.

Between March and June 2022, the Police received information that criminal proceeds arising from rental scams were purportedly credited into several bank accounts which had received criminal proceeds amounting to more than $900,000.

Preliminary investigations revealed that two men, aged 49 and 50, have allegedly facilitated in the money laundering by withdrawing money (criminal proceeds) from the fraudulently obtained bank accounts with ATM cards and later depositing them into other bank accounts. Further investigations also indicated that the other five men and three women, aged between 21 and 35, had allegedly relinquished their bank accounts and ATM cards, which were used by the two men to withdraw money. Case exhibits such as ATM cards and bank tokens were found and seized from the possession of the two men.

The 50-year-old man will be charged in court on 7 December 2022.The offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 carries a fine of up to $500,000, an imprisonment term not exceeding 10 years or both. Investigations against the other six men and three women are ongoing.

The Police will not hesitate to take action against anyone involved in arrangements to allow his or her bank accounts to be used for illegal purposes such as the laundering of criminal proceeds. To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to open and/or sell bank accounts, or receive money in their bank accounts, as they will be held accountable if these are linked to criminal activities.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
06 December 2022 @ 7:52 PM

SWIFT ARREST OF MAN FOR CRIMINAL TRESPASS AND THEFT WITHIN EIGHT HOURS

The Police have arrested a 42-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of criminal trespass and theft.

On 5 December 2022 at about 6.45am, the Police were alerted to a case of criminal trespass and theft at a mosque along Jalan Haji Alias. Cash amounting to at least $50 were purportedly stolen from a donation box. Through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from Police cameras, officers from Tanglin Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him within eight hours of the report.

The man will be charged in court on 7 December 2022 with criminal trespass punishable under Section 447 of the Penal Code 1871 and theft punishable under Section 379 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence of criminal trespass carries an imprisonment term of up to three months, fine of up to $1, 500 or both. The offence of theft carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, a fine or both.

The Police would like to advise the public to adopt the following crime prevention measures:

Secure all doors, roller shutters, windows and other openings with good quality grilles and closed-shackle padlocks before leaving your premises unattended, even for a short while;

Refrain from keeping large sums of cash and valuables in your premises; and

Install a burglar alarm, motion sensor lights and/or CCTVs, to cover the access points into your premises. Ensure that they are tested periodically and are in good working condition.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
06 December 2022 @ 10:20 PM

Christopher de Souza, a lawyer, Member of Parliament (MP) for the People’s Action Party (PAP) and deputy speaker of Parliament, was found guilty of professional misconduct by a disciplinary tribunal.

The MP for the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC was found to have failed to make full disclosure to the court despite being aware that his client Amber Compounding Pharmacy and Amber Laboratories had breached the conditions of a search order, according to Channel NewsAsia and The Straits Times.

de Souza’s client, Amber, had gotten hold of documents in 2018 through a search order, with the information being confidential and only to be used for High Court suits.

Amber used the documents to file police reports and other reports against parties that they were taking legal action against.

The firm’s actions had occurred before de Souza and his firm Lee and Lee, took over the case, and de Souza was later made aware of Amber’s breaches.

He knowingly helped Amber suppress evidence by omitting information in an affidavit that he filed on 28 January 2019.

Found guilty

de Souza was found guilty by a two-member disciplinary tribunal of professional misconduct, in a report that was published on 5 December.

They said that de Souza knew that it was his duty to disclose the prior use of the documents and information by Amber.

They added that at the centre of the issue was what de Souza should have done when he discovered the use of the documents and information and whether he should have informed the court and the opposing lawyer of the breach.

They came to the belief that de Souza’s failure to make full disclosure was equivalent to suppressing evidence, and that he was party to and help assist in the suppression by filing the affidavit.

The disciplinary tribunal found sufficient grounds for de Souza to face disciplinary sanction before the Court of Three Judges (which is the highest disciplinary body for lawyers) on one of the 5 charges that he was facing, the other 4 charges against him were dismissed.

de Souza’s lawyers from WongPartnership told the media that their client had acted with the utmost integrity in the conduct of the matter.

They added that they will deny the charge, saying “we will strenuously resist it and argue that it too shall be dismissed.”

PAP’s response

“Integrity, honesty and incorruptibility are fundamental to the Party. The standing of each PAP MP reflects on the Party, and the Party expects all MPs to uphold the highest standards.

We are aware of the professional disciplinary proceedings by the Law Society against MP Christopher de Souza, in his capacity as a lawyer.

Mr de Souza faced five charges before the Disciplinary Tribunal. The Tribunal cleared him of four of the charges.

Mr de Souza has informed us that he denies any wrongdoing. He will argue his case on the one charge, on appeal before the Court of Three Judges.

We will await the verdict of the Court of Three Judges, and determine the course of action necessary after the verdict.”

It was previously reported that the families of the three passengers who died in the infamous Tanjong Pagar car crash in February 2021, are seeking $1.7 million from the driver’s estate.

Madam Chan, the mother of the deceased driver Jonathan Long Junwei, has since filed her defence and denied the claims of the victims’ families, saying that their deaths were caused by their own negligence, according to The Straits Times.

The car was driven by her son Long at the time, and Madam Chan said that the victims knew that Long had consumed alcohol in quantities that rendered him unfit to drive safely.

She also denied that her son owed the victims, Mr Eugene Yap Zheng Min, Mr Wilson Teo Qi Xiang, and Mr Gary Wong Hong Chieh; a duty of care, and that they had willingly participated in the illegal activity.

Chan added that the deceased passengers had encouraged Long to take them for a ride in his car and failed to take adequate precautions for their own safety.

She denied her son’s liability under the “ex turpi causa non aritur actio” principle, which means that the claimants cannot pursue legal damages because of their own unlawful actions.

Recap

The infamous accident that occurred at Tanjong Pagar which resulted the death of several people has further developments.

The families are seeking to claim $1.7M from the driver’s estate.

They are the families of Eugene Yap Zheng Min, Teo Qi Xiang and Gary Wong Hong Chieh.

The families are represented by Daniel Goh Choon Wah of Characterist LLC.

Types of claims in this case

• Dependency Claims
• Loss of Financial Contributions
• Funeral expenses
• A Rolex that Yap was wearing
• Care and custody of Wong’s dog

Background

The fiery car crashed at Tanjong Pagar last year involving a white BMW, saw the deaths of 5 men and the girlfriend of one of the men, Raybe Oh, rushing into the fire to save her boyfriend and sustaining serious burns in the process.

Drink driving and speeding

The coroner’s inquiry into the deaths of the quintet began, with Traffic Police investigator, Senior Staff Sergeant Muhammad Firdaus Suleiman testifying to State Coroner Adam Nakhoda earlier today (9 June) that the speed limit for that particular stretch of road being 50km/h.

An autopsy report of the driver, 29-year-old Jonathan Long Junwei, showed that he was drink driving at the time, with an alcohol reading of 86mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, which is above the legal limit fo 80mg per 100ml.

Killed

Long was driving his BMW M4 at about 5.40am before crashing the vehicle into a shophouse, and it then burst into flames with the men trapped inside.

The passengers, Mr Teo Qi Xiang, 26; Mr Elvin Tan Yong Hao, 28; Mr Eugene Yap Zheng Min, 29; and Mr Gary Wong Hong Chieh, 29; and Long, were all killed in the incident.

Raybe Oh then rushed to the crash site and tried to help them but suffered severe burns in the process, and she was then seen in video footage emerging from the fire covered in flames, and she then spent 4 months in SGH as well as requiring multiple surgeries for her recovery.

Aviva financial advisers

Four of the men were financial advisers with Aviva, with Wong being a former representative of the company.

The coroner’s inquiry into the case has yet to conclude and is still ongoing, stay tuned for updates.

Go Green with Fit-for-Gifting Notes and E-Hong Baos

Singapore, 6 December 2022… The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) strongly encourages members of the public to go green this coming Lunar New Year (LNY) by using “Fit-for-Gifting” currency notes (Fit notes) or e-hong baos, instead of new notes.

2. Fit notes are used currency notes that are generally clean and of suitable quality for recirculation, including for festive gifting. The condition of these notes has been verified by banknote processing machines and are similar in quality to notes from automated teller machines (ATMs).

3. MAS issues approximately 100 million pieces of new notes annually for LNY and other festive periods. A large majority of new notes are used only once for gifting, and are returned to MAS shortly after each LNY. While most of the returned notes are recirculated to meet public demand, such as to replace unfit notes in circulation, the volume of such notes far exceeds replacement needs. The excess notes are subsequently destroyed before the end of their useful life.

4. New notes issued just to meet the demand for festive gifting generate unnecessary carbon emissions and is a waste of resources. The carbon emissions from the issuance of excess new notes annually are comparable to powering 430 four-room HDB flats.  It would require 10,000 new trees to be planted to offset the emissions.  The practice of printing new notes for festive gifting and subsequently destroying most of them is not in line with environmental sustainability and Singapore’s aspiration to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 as part of the global effort to mitigate climate change.

5. To reduce the carbon emissions from new notes, MAS and The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) advocate the use of Fit notes and e-hong baos. Members of the public who prefer to give physical hong baos for LNY can play their part in protecting the environment by choosing to use Fit notes instead of new notes.  MAS will also be working closely with the banks to make Fit notes more accessible to the public. The banks have also enhanced their e-hong bao offerings over the years. These have been well-received as a convenient and personalised way to send blessings to family and friends during festive periods.

6. In conjunction with the initiative to encourage the use of Fit notes, MAS will cease the issuance of Good-as-New (GAN) $2 notes starting from this LNY. Fit notes are a more sustainable option, as GAN $2 notes generate additional carbon emissions given the additional processing needed.

7. Ms Cindy Mok, Assistant Managing Director (Finance, Risk & Currency), MAS, said, “Starting from this Lunar New Year, let’s use Fit-for-Gifting notes or e-hong baos instead of new notes. In this way, we can convey blessings to our loved ones, while doing our part for a greener and more sustainable future for the next generation.”

8. Mrs Ong-Ang Ai Boon, Director, ABS, said, “ABS will continue to support more sustainable alternatives for festive gifting which will make a meaningful difference to the environment. Our member banks will encourage customers to use Fit-for-Gifting notes, as well as e-hong baos.”

9. More details on the reservation and exchange of new and Fit notes will be provided towards the end of the year.

Source: Monetary Authority Singapore

Unpaid Salary

Worked for this company and resigned, they’re refusing to pay me my last salary and have not even credited the CPF for October as well.

According to MOM law, companies are required to pay the last salary within 7 days.

I’ve already handed over all the work equipment, access card, work documents and signed their NDA in the short notice period days that were indicated by this China boss.

Asked them to send me my salary by tomorrow which is 7 Dec, they’re asking me to go down today or “it’s not their business anymore”.

The company’s name is *company name redacted*.

Netizens’ comments

1. Just go down and collect , you want MoM to settle for you ? Do you know go down MoM must Q how long and the time spent for MoM officer to help you “chase” your salary will take some months .
   • (OP) I already have something on for today, why should I be skipping my meetings for today just to make time to go down when I’ve already handed everything over to them before I left? It feels like they just wanna try to be funny instead of just crediting the salary.
     • Lol , please go read MoM regulation before you make any judgement . As long they made a cheque date 07/12/2022 , you don’t collect it your problem . So why make yourself hard ? Singapore market very small only , your next employer might call and ask how is your performance , you will lost the job you like because of this incident
2. From what I see is that the company agrees to pay you and wants you to go down before 4.30pm .
   It is you that has an appointment from morning till 4.30pm ????
   You cannot even spare an hour to go down to collect the money ?
   Even you go down to MoM , I do not think they will help you base on what is inside the text .
   For CPF yes , they are late in paying but as long they pay up the late penalty charge with CPF , the company will not be committing any offence .
   This is my point of view
3. Just head down, settle the deed and get over and done with. If you refused, even go MOM also no use de. Cos you have refused.
4. Oct Cpf contribution by Nov 14 -17 need to be credited …u can refer to CPF and not MOM….Nov Salary have to be pay before 7 Dec and today Only 6 Dec …so u still have to go down to your ex company and settle .