2 men charged after company allegedly received US$45 million without a payment service licence
SINGAPORE: Two men were charged on Thursday (Jun 26) after their company's corporate bank accounts allegedly received nearly US$45 million in funds from overseas.
Patrick Lee Paik Cheng, 65, is the director of the company, Tupt, while his co-accused, Dinh Tien Dat, 28, was said to be in a position to influence the conduct of Tupt.
According to a Bizfile record, Tupt is a company located at Bencoolen Street which operates a wholesale business on a fee or commission basis.
Lee, a Malaysian and Dinh, a Vietnamese, were each handed a charge under the Payment Services Act.
The police said in a press release on Wednesday that neither the men nor their company had a licence to carry out a business that provided a payment service in Singapore. Both men and the company were not considered exempted service providers.
It said that investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department revealed that the funds were received from outside Singapore on 58 occasions.
Between Jul 28, 2020 and Apr 29, 2022, US$44,951,709.70 was received in 26 transactions to an RHB bank account and 32 transactions to a Standard Chartered bank account, court documents stated. Both bank accounts allegedly belonged to Tupt.
Lee's case was adjourned for him to seek legal advice. He will next return to court on Jul 24.
Meanwhile, Dinh has indicated his intention to plead guilty. His hearing has been fixed for Aug 7.
The police said in the press release that they will not hesitate to act against any individual or entity involved in providing unlicensed cross-border money transfer services.
"Members of the public are strongly advised to use financial institutions or payment service providers licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore when conducting cross-border money transfers.
"The police would like to caution against engaging in unlicensed payment service activities, as unlicensed payment service providers are not regulated and are not subjected to stringent anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing measures," it added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Independent Singapore
2 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
M'sian man who died in Admiralty Rd accident was a single dad working 2 jobs
SINGAPORE: A man who passed away after a recent mishap at Admiralty Road was a single father who worked hard for the sake of his daughter, who is five years old. According to a report in Shin Min Daily News, Chan Yong Kang, 30, lived in Johor Bahru. He worked both as a food delivery rider back home as well as an electrician in Singapore to pay for his divorce proceedings as well as to support his little girl. The incident occurred last Friday (June 20) shortly past 3 pm, when Mr Chan was on a motorcycle on the way home from work. The accident involved two trucks and two motorcycles. News reports quote the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) as saying that the other person on a motorcycle, a 56-year-old man, had been conscious when he was taken to Woodlands Health Campus. Videos of the aftermath of the incident were shared on social media. Reports say that Mr Chan was pinned under a garbage truck and died of injuries to the head. A devoted father Mr Chan, who had worked in Singapore for over a decade, was described by his family as a devoted father who never skipped spending time with his little girl on weekends in spite of his heavy work schedule. 'She was the centre of his world. Although he was always busy, he made it a point to return to Batu Pahat every weekend to be with her. 'She's only 5 and doesn't fully understand what death means, but when she saw her father's body, she couldn't hold back her tears,' his older sister was quoted as saying in The New Straits Times. According to Mr Chan's younger brother, Chan Yong Soo, he got up before 4 o'clock each morning to go to Singapore for his job, which ended at 3 pm. After getting back to Johor Bahru, he would then start his second job delivering food until 7 pm when he called it a day. Chan Yong Soo and Chan Chai Lian were also quoted as saying their brother drove carefully, despite speculation online that said otherwise. Ms Chan described her brother as 'a hardworking and down-to-earth person', adding, 'He had elderly parents and a young child to support, so he worked diligently.' She also said that despite the financial challenges their family is facing, they will seek to gain custody of Mr Chan's daughter and raise the little girl. /TISG Read also: About half of the children involved in road accidents were not wearing seatbelts: KKH
Independent Singapore
2 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
'Local operators need to step up': Mainland Chinese F&B brands in S'pore praised for ‘top-notch' service
SINGAPORE: Singapore's commercial rental costs and the closure of several food and beverage outlets have been prompting debate online. While local operators reportedly point to the growing presence of mainland Chinese brands in the city-state, many netizens say these businesses are winning over locals because they offer 'top-notch' customer service. One commenter even said, 'Local operators need to step up.' This followed a Channel News Asia (CNA) report in which several local businessmen said they believe the entry of mainland Chinese retailers has raised rents in the city-state. Andy Hoon, chairman of an informal group of local businessmen, Bosses Network, said some of his contacts from China believe they need to offer higher rent to win bids for commercial spaces in Singapore. He noted that they view the city-state as a 'stepping stone' to the rest of the market in the region. However, Hunan home-style cuisine chain Nong Geng Ji — which operates over 100 outlets in China — denied such 'aggressive real estate tactics'. 'We firmly believe that winning customers' loyalty must be grounded in the exceptional quality of our ingredients and the authenticity of our flavours,' a spokesperson said. Singapore Polytechnic's business school lecturer Ernest Tan also noted that Chinese-style service begins even before food is ordered. 'From start to end, they take care of you. You don't feel the wait is too long — you can have unlimited snacks, you can have water,' he said — a model that has been brought into the city-state and noticed by locals. Mr Hoon added that Chinese brands often provide 'endless' appetisers, ice cream and other perks. 'Singaporean businessmen need to counter [that],' he said. Netizens echoed similar sentiments, with one commenter pointing out, 'No other non-China brands do it.' He said, 'A few days ago, we were making noise that we weren't even served plain water,' referring to the free-flow tap water petition by Singapore General Hospital consultant Dr Yee Yucai, which was slammed by a restaurateur as a ' personal dining gripe '. Another shared that some local businesses offer 'overpriced food items' and are 'very stingy', charging extra for water and wet wipes, even though they already include service charges and employ staff who are slow or unfriendly. In contrast, she said Chinese chains have friendlier staff, faster service, and perks like unlimited free rice, with some not even having a service charge. 'As much as I would like to support some local businesses, I, as a consumer, find myself gravitating towards some of these Chinese restaurants which offer more value for money,' she added. Another commenter added that Vietnamese and Thai restaurants also provide more generous portions of real protein than local brands, which is why he prefers them. Meanwhile, one remarked, 'It's supply and demand. Singaporeans always want to try new food. Overseas big brands capitalise on this, and they move in fast and furious. Despite paying higher rentals, they will still be profitable because everyone wants to try the new cuisine. This creates long queues, and like any typical Singaporean mentality, a long queue means good food, [so they] join the queue.' /TISG See also Pandemic delays arrival of the young wolves of Wall Street Read also: 'Retailers, hawkers and restaurants need to survive' — KF Seetoh says Urban Hawker NYC costs less to run than Orchard Road, MBS food halls
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Worried about wedding ang pows being stolen? Switch to e-ang pows?
CNA938 Rewind A man made off with two boxes containing nearly S$50,000 worth of red packets meant for a couple during their wedding reception at a hotel. He was sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to pay about S$46,000 to the victim by July 31. If he is unable to pay, he must serve another 100 days in prison. Lance Alexander and Daniel Martin speak with Hellen Lie, Founder and Creative Director of Rosette Designs & Co., a wedding planner in Singapore.
