Failing which they would make sure the victims rot in JAIL!
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Fined $1.4m for evading duty and GST on cars
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->A BUSINESSMAN who fraudulently evaded duty as well as goods and services tax (GST) on car imports totalling $145,181 has been fined $1.4 million.
As Toh Chee Wee, 36, could not pay the fines, he will serve a default sentence of 100 weeks in jail.
=> Worse than Ah Longs!
Toh, then owner of Yi Sheng Trading, was fined last Thursday after pleading guilty to 58 charges.
The remaining 112 charges were taken into consideration during his sentencing.
He is among the first of 12 parallel car importers to be sentenced, following a massive crackdown by Singapore Customs.
Elaborating on Toh's case, Singapore Customs said in a statement that he was found to have under-declared the values of 234 cars between April and August 2007.
The cases of the others are ongoing.
The Singapore Customs' crackdown has shaken the industry.
In addition to conducting post-import audit checks, the authority has stepped up its efforts in verifying the values declared by car importers for assessment of duty and GST.
'Customs will not hesitate to prosecute offenders who under-declare such values and push for deterrent sentences,' said a spokesman.
Those caught for evading duties or GST will be liable to a fine of up to 20 times the amount of duties and GST evaded or, in default, a jail sentence.
On top of the penalties meted out by the court, the offenders are also required to make good the duty and GST owed.
Toh's lawyer, Mr Ho Thiam Huat, said his client had closed his business well before investigations began. Before his arrest, Toh had been working as a deliveryman to support his family.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Fined $1.4m for evading duty and GST on cars
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->A BUSINESSMAN who fraudulently evaded duty as well as goods and services tax (GST) on car imports totalling $145,181 has been fined $1.4 million.
As Toh Chee Wee, 36, could not pay the fines, he will serve a default sentence of 100 weeks in jail.
=> Worse than Ah Longs!
Toh, then owner of Yi Sheng Trading, was fined last Thursday after pleading guilty to 58 charges.
The remaining 112 charges were taken into consideration during his sentencing.
He is among the first of 12 parallel car importers to be sentenced, following a massive crackdown by Singapore Customs.
Elaborating on Toh's case, Singapore Customs said in a statement that he was found to have under-declared the values of 234 cars between April and August 2007.
The cases of the others are ongoing.
The Singapore Customs' crackdown has shaken the industry.
In addition to conducting post-import audit checks, the authority has stepped up its efforts in verifying the values declared by car importers for assessment of duty and GST.
'Customs will not hesitate to prosecute offenders who under-declare such values and push for deterrent sentences,' said a spokesman.
Those caught for evading duties or GST will be liable to a fine of up to 20 times the amount of duties and GST evaded or, in default, a jail sentence.
On top of the penalties meted out by the court, the offenders are also required to make good the duty and GST owed.
Toh's lawyer, Mr Ho Thiam Huat, said his client had closed his business well before investigations began. Before his arrest, Toh had been working as a deliveryman to support his family.
