Updated: 09/21/2013 11:35 | By Channel NewsAsia
2 S'poreans jailed for unlawful export of military antennae
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SINGAPORE: Two Singaporean men were sentenced to jail by a United States federal court in Washington, District of Columbia on Friday for the unlawful export of military antennae from the US to Singapore and Hong Kong.
44-year-old Lim Kow Seng was handed a 37-month prison sentence. 46-year-old Hia Soo Gan Benson was given a 34-month jail sentence.
The two men had pleaded guilty on 26 June this year to conspiracy to defraud the US by dishonest means.
They were arrested in Singapore in October 2011 and extradited to the US, where they have been detained since.
According to court documents, Lim and Hia conspired to defraud the US by causing a total of 55 cavity-backed spiral antennae and biconical antennae to be illegally exported from a Massachusetts company to Singapore and Hong Kong without the required State Department licence.
These military antennae are controlled for export as US munitions and are used in airborne and shipboard environments.
Lim and Hia conspired to undervalue the antennae to circumvent US regulations on the filing of shipper's export declarations to the US government.
Lim and Hia also allegedly used false names and front companies to obtain the antennae illegally from the US.
Corezing International, a company based in Singapore, was also charged in Columbia in connection with the export of these military antennae to Singapore and Hong Kong.
Corezing and its principals have also been charged in connection with the export of 6,000 radio frequency modules from the US to Iran via Singapore.
Some of these modules were later found in improvised explosive devices in Iraq. - CNA/xq
