Man in car sale scam appeals against jail term

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The Straits Times </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="15">

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Man in car sale scam appeals against jail term <!-- TITLE : end--> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3" height="15">

</td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="3" class="bodytext_10pt"> <!-- CONTENT : start --> HE WOULD sell Singapore registered cars at bargain prices across the Causeway, but the cars were never his to sell. A district court heard last month how Ho Pak Chan got his accomplices to rent 18 cars between April 2006 and March 2007, with a total value of $1 million, from various agencies here. Driven across to Johor, these expensive vehicles were sold for as low as RM5,000 (S$2,060). Ho's "business" was uncovered when police nabbed one of his accomplices earlier this year. On Sept 7, Ho was jailed for six years. But the 52-year-old is appealing against the sentence. In the grounds of judgment released yesterday, District Judge Jasvender Kaur said that a deterrent sentence was appropriate as Ho was no mere foot soldier, but clearly the operation's mastermind.

She wrote: "He played a prime role by recruiting the accomplices, selling the cars off in Malaysia, and decided on how much to give his accomplices from what he received." On one occasion in May 2006, it was accomplice Sulaiman Amat who did the paperwork to rent a Toyota Wish, worth $85,000, from SW Rent-A-Car located in Ubi Avenue 2. Ho sold the car in Malaysia for RM8,500. A day later, the duo did the same thing with a Nissan Sunny worth $75,000, from ATS Rent-A-Car in Outram Road. This car went for RM5,000. Sulaiman's reward: RM3,000 per car. In January 2007, Ho set his sights higher. He got another accomplice, Eugene Yeo Hong Siah, to rent a Mercedes- Benz car worth $110,000 using a forged identity card and driving license. The car got Ho RM17,000, and Yeo received RM1,000. The 18 cars were never seen again. Deputy Public Prosecutor Adrian Ooi said unlike his men, Ho took pains to hide his involvement, and this called for a stiff sentence.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.


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