Jul 19, 2010
Food importer jailed for fraud
<!-- by line --> By Khushwant Singh
HE IMPORTED food for the Jewish community here but when the going got tough he made false claims of $105,536 on the goods and services tax (GST) he had paid. Stienberg Tan Geok Yong's applications for ever-increasing GST refunds within the short span of 10 months in 2004 and 2005 drew the attention of the Inland Revenue Authority (Iras).
On Monday, the 37-year-old Singaporean was jailed two months and ordered to pay a penalty of $316,608, which is three times the amount he tried to defraud Iras. According to the rules, a business can claim a refund if it incurs more GST on purchases than the GST it collects on sales. Tan was the sole proprietor of Stienberg & Lindsay Food and Beverage.
He started cheating on GST claims barely five months after the firm was set up. He started small, claiming $286 more in GST refunds in August that year. Three months later, it was an additional $946. Although his firm did no business after that, Tan claimed $1,420 in January the next year, and $1,544 in March.
In June that year, Tan applied for a refund of $85,500 and Iras started its checks. His lawyer Michael Loh told the district court that Tan's business was losing money and his client had cheated the tax authorities to pay rent for office premises in Hongkong Street. The company closed down in November 2005 and Tan is now a security guard.
