Former CEO pleads guilty to cheating
By Claire Huang | Posted: 15 March 2012 1651 hrs
A former chairman of a Sesdaq-listed company pleaded guilty on Thursday to cheating Maybank and DBS Bank into releasing more than $29 million in credit facilities. -- PHOTO: STARTECH
SINGAPORE: The former executive chairman and chief executive officer of Startech Manufacturing has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of cheating, amounting to almost S$29.5 million.
58-year-old Saw Chee Keng admitted to 26 counts of cheating, from May 2002 to February 2003, where he duped MayBank and DBS with fake invoices.
Aided by five accomplices, Saw would apply for trade credit facilities at the two banks, through two companies Dara Services and K2 Tech Components. The two firms were owned by Wong Siew Hiong, who took a cut whenever Saw applied for credit facilities.
Startech was a subsidiary of Startech Electronics, which was listed on SESDAQ in July 2001.
Court documents stated that the hearing was delayed as Saw absconded to China in June 2003 while on bail. He surrendered in September 2011, after being on the run for about eight years.
His accomplices have since been dealt with. They were given sentences ranging from a stern letter of warning, to five years and three months' imprisonment.
Saw is the last of the group to face the music. He initially faced 129 counts of cheating but the prosecution proceeded on 26 of them.
The frail-looking man has requested for a three-week adjournment so that his son, who is currently overseas, can prepare a mitigation letter.
The case will be heard again on April 5.
-CNA/ac
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