Man's appeal to keep US$10m dismissed

[Masamune Date]

Man's appeal to keep US$10m dismissed
By Ng Jing Yng | Posted: 19 October 2010 2339 hrs
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SINGAPORE : A man who claimed he was a secret envoy for the Taiwanese government had his appeal to keep US$10 million dismissed on Tuesday.

The High Court here ruled that the Taiwanese government had the right to recover US$29.8 million that was initially deposited into two middlemen's Singapore bank account for services rendered.

In the Court of Appeal, the court dismissed the appeal by one of the middlemen - Charles Ching Chi Ju - whose defence was that the US$10 million was meant for his services as a secret emissary for Taiwan to China.

He had also contended that the rest of the US$29.8 million was for his services when he acted between the Taiwanese government and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

The court also heard that US$5.98 million had been recovered from the second middleman - Singaporean Wu Shih Tsai - who is currently in remand in Taiwan for using forged documents to mislead Taiwanese officials tracking the missing funds.

Ching's lawyer, Lawrence Lee, said there were documents containing original handwritings to prove that his client was appointed as a secret emissary.

Lee added that Ching, a naturalised American, is currently in the United States and continues to receive death threats as he is seen as betraying the Taiwanese government.

The two businessmen were appointed by the Taiwanese government in August 2006 to enhance ties with PNG and they opened a joint OCBC bank account here subsequently.

The bank account was emptied by December that same year even after the Taiwanese government called off the plan and asked for the monies back.

In May this year, the High Court had ruled in favour of the Taiwanese government which had sued the duo to get the US$29.8 million back.

Dismissing the appeal on Tuesday, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong said the monies were deposited for a certain purpose and Ching had acted as a trustee to carry out the agreed purpose which eventually did not materialise.

- CNA/al