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Singapore Law Watch
14-05-2025
- Business
- Singapore Law Watch
3 weeks' jail for man who tricked Tampines Town Council into paying extra $233,000 for water pumps
3 weeks' jail for man who tricked Tampines Town Council into paying extra $233,000 for water pumps Source: Straits Times Article Date: 14 May 2025 Author: Shaffiq Alkhatib Zhang Shuyan was the managing director of electrical and mechanical maintenance and installation firm FYH Integrated at the time of the offence. A man who billed Tampines Town Council for more expensive products instead of the actual items he provided, tricking it into paying an extra $233,000 for water pumps, was sentenced to three weeks' jail on May 13. Zhang Shuyan, 59, who was managing director of electrical and mechanical maintenance and installation firm FYH Integrated at the time of the offence, pleaded guilty in April to one count of falsifying accounts to the town council. Before handing down the sentence on May 13, District Judge Kenneth Chin noted that the Singaporean had made full restitution and paid the bulk of it before he was charged. However, the judge stressed that Zhang's case involved public funds and that he committed the offence over a sustained period of a year. Deputy public prosecutors David Koh and Yeow Xuan stated in court documents that the offender and his wife incorporated the firm in 2009 with $500,000. It later entered into a three-year contract with Tampines Town Council in February 2016 for jobs related to pumps and refuse chute flushing systems. FYH was responsible for the maintenance, servicing and repair of pumps in the Housing Board blocks within the town council's purview. It was also contracted to replace defective pumps in the HDB blocks. The contract included a schedule of rates, with a list of items and their corresponding prices, that FYH would bill the town council for. Between April 2016 and July 2017, Zhang's firm replaced 267 single-stage water pumps in the Tampines estate. But Zhang billed the products as multi-stage water pumps that cost more than $1,400 each, compared with a single-stage pump that cost around $550. The town council received 203 invoices for the replacement of the pumps and paid more than $380,000 to FYH. Zhang's scheme came to light in 2017, after the town council's managing agent realised FYH had been charging it for multi-stage pumps even though only single-stage pumps were used. After he was found out, Zhang agreed to refund the extra amount that the town council had paid out to his company, which was more than $233,000. He was later charged in 2024. Offenders found guilty of falsifying accounts can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Straits Times
Married man touched foster son's genitals before allowing him to use computer
He had touched the child's private parts during all four incidents, court documents stated. Married man touched foster son's genitals before allowing him to use computer Shaffiq Alkhatib The Straits Times May 8, 2025 A married man committed indecent acts on his foster son, then aged between nine and 10 years old, on four separate occasions in their Choa Chu Kang home in 2016. He had touched the child's private parts during all four incidents, court documents stated. The offender, who turned 63 on May 7, 2025, was sentenced to 13 months' jail on May 8 after he pleaded guilty to one count of committing an indecent act on the victim - an offence under the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA). Three other similar charges were considered during his sentencing. He cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect the victim's identity. Deputy public prosecutors Colin Ng and Yeo Kee Hwan stated in documents that the victim was four years old around 2010 to 2011 when he was placed in foster care for an undisclosed reason. The boy later moved to the Housing Board flat that the offender shared with his wife. He addressed the man as "dad". While they were alone at home in 2016, the boy asked his foster father for permission to use a desktop computer. The DPPs said: "To the victim's confusion, the accused replied that he would allow the victim to use the computer after (the accused) conducted a 'check'." The man then touched the boy's genitals before allowing him to use the computer. The victim did not tell anyone about the incident as he was unaware that the man had committed an unlawful act. Three years passed before the boy attended sexual education classes in school in 2019 and realised his foster father's earlier conduct was wrong. Despite this, it took the boy three more years before he told a school counsellor on May 10, 2022, about his ordeal. Court documents did not disclose what finally spurred him to break his silence. The counsellor related the incident to her reporting officer, and the matter was escalated to the authorities. Later that day, the victim was removed from the flat for his safety and placed in a home. He made a police report on May 11, 2022. The DPPs urged the court to sentence the offender to between 11 and 13 months' jail, stressing that the victim was between nine and 10 years old at the time of the offences. "The more vulnerable the minor is, the more protection he or she will require, and the more reprehensible will be the conduct of an offender in exploiting him or her for the offender's own gratification," they said. "An unequivocal and uncompromising message must be sent to all would-be sex offenders that abusing a relationship or a position of authority to gratify sexual impulse will inevitably be met with the harshest penal consequences." The offender had "utterly failed to act in a manner befitting of a father figure", the prosecutors added. For each charge under the CYPA, an offender can be jailed for up to five years and fined up to $10,000. A repeat offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined up to $20,000. Click here to contribute a story or submit it to our WhatsApp Get more of Stomp's latest updates by following us on: Share this article Show Comments
Singapore Law Watch
02-05-2025
- Singapore Law Watch
Man who was on the run for over 12 years following 2011 knife attack pleads guilty to assault
Man who was on the run for over 12 years following 2011 knife attack pleads guilty to assault Source: Straits Times Article Date: 01 May 2025 Author: Shaffiq Alkhatib A man, who fled Singapore in early 2011 after slashing another man across the chest and abdomen, gave himself up to the authorities more than 12 years later in October 2023 as he missed his family. A man, who fled Singapore in early 2011 after slashing another man across the chest and abdomen, gave himself up to the authorities more than 12 years later in October 2023 as he missed his family. On April 30, Teo Lye Chye, 60, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including assault and leaving Singapore from an unauthorised place. The Singaporean barged into his wife's bedroom in her Ang Mo Kio flat at around 6am on Jan 25, 2011, where she and the 50-year-old victim were sleeping. Teo attacked the man with a knife brought from his home. Teo's wife and daughter had earlier been drinking with the victim and his daughter in the flat from about 1am. Teo's 20-year-old son saw the man behaving intimately with Teo's wife, and a dispute broke out between the family members at around 3am. Deputy Public Prosecutor Intan Suhaily Abu Bakar said the son was asked to leave the flat about two hours later. The DPP added: 'The accused's son packed his belongings and left the (flat) together with his fiancee and their two-month-old baby. At the void deck of the block, the accused's son called the accused and informed him about the incident.' Asking his son to wait at the block, Teo took a kitchen knife and headed to his wife's home. Teo, who was living in a rented unit in Toa Payoh at the time, arrived at around 6am. The son was unaware that his father had a knife, the court heard. At the flat, the son rang the doorbell, and Teo's younger son opened the door. Teo and his older son walked towards a bedroom, where Teo's wife and the victim were sleeping. They kicked the door open, and Teo slashed the man once across his chest and abdomen. DPP Intan told the court: 'The victim felt pain and saw that he was bleeding and that his intestines were coming out of the wound. The victim sat down on a sofa and applied pressure on the wound.' Teo ran out of the flat, throwing the knife into a rubbish bin, and boarded a taxi. He left Singapore from a jetty in Changi, and ended up in Malaysia. The DPP did not disclose further details as to how Teo left the country. Police officers patrolling the area near his wife's home responded to calls for help shortly before 6.30am. The victim was taken by ambulance to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He underwent surgery for his injuries, which included a lacerated spleen, and was discharged on Jan 28, 2011. Court documents did not disclose the state of Teo's marriage at the time of the incident. The victim has recovered but now has a permanent scar on his abdomen. The DPP said Teo surrendered himself on Oct 17, 2023, and was charged in court in 2024. He will be sentenced on May 15. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
