jdelpiero
19-09-2007, 07:04 AM
SINGAPORE: Former National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chairman Richard Yong has been sentenced to 15 months’ jail.
The sentence will be backdated to 4 August 2007, which was the date he was slapped with ten charges for various alleged offences.
Yong had pleaded guilty to only three of those charges one under the Penal Code, another two under the Bankruptcy Act.
In passing the sentence, the judge said Yong had made an illegal flight from Singapore to Malaysia, so he had undermined the bankruptcy law in Singapore by his action.
The judge added that "the sentence should reflect the gravity of offences to deter other like—minded" people.
Yong’s lawyer Jeffrey Beh said Yong was surprised with the sentence as he had expected to get less than six months’ jail. Mr Beh said he would discuss with Yong whether he plans to appeal.
His client had been ordered to cough up nearly S$1 million in legal costs and damages to NKF. When he failed to do so, Yong was declared a bankrupt in May.
But Yong sold several properties in Singapore and even transferred money to his wife’s bank account believed to amount to several million dollars.
Yong did not reveal the proceeds of the sales or any of the money he had to authorities as required of bankrupts under the law.
And on 17 May, Yong left Singapore for Malaysia without official permission and eventually ended up in Hong Kong.
He was nabbed in Hong Kong on 4 July and was finally brought back to Singapore a month later.
According to his lawyer, Yong was depressed when he left Singapore and had sought treatment in Hong Kong.
— CNA/so
The sentence will be backdated to 4 August 2007, which was the date he was slapped with ten charges for various alleged offences.
Yong had pleaded guilty to only three of those charges one under the Penal Code, another two under the Bankruptcy Act.
In passing the sentence, the judge said Yong had made an illegal flight from Singapore to Malaysia, so he had undermined the bankruptcy law in Singapore by his action.
The judge added that "the sentence should reflect the gravity of offences to deter other like—minded" people.
Yong’s lawyer Jeffrey Beh said Yong was surprised with the sentence as he had expected to get less than six months’ jail. Mr Beh said he would discuss with Yong whether he plans to appeal.
His client had been ordered to cough up nearly S$1 million in legal costs and damages to NKF. When he failed to do so, Yong was declared a bankrupt in May.
But Yong sold several properties in Singapore and even transferred money to his wife’s bank account believed to amount to several million dollars.
Yong did not reveal the proceeds of the sales or any of the money he had to authorities as required of bankrupts under the law.
And on 17 May, Yong left Singapore for Malaysia without official permission and eventually ended up in Hong Kong.
He was nabbed in Hong Kong on 4 July and was finally brought back to Singapore a month later.
According to his lawyer, Yong was depressed when he left Singapore and had sought treatment in Hong Kong.
— CNA/so