http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/man-gets-27-months-for-criminal-breach-of-trust-of-more-than-170k-from-2
Man gets 27 months for criminal breach of trust of more than $170k from 2 employers
Published
4 hours ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent
SINGAPORE - While out on bail for committing criminal breach of trust of more than $100,000 from a company, a former administrative supervisor misappropriated about $68,000 from another firm.
On Monday (July 10), Sivassankar Gunasegaran, 27, was sentenced to 27 months' jail after he pleaded guilty to three charges - misappropriating $66,586 and $35,908 from Polystar General Services and $67,835 from SG Vehicles Global.
Four forgery charges and another charge of CBT were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) David Koh said that Sivassankar joined Polystar, which provides cleaning and landscaping services, in January 2013.
His duties included making payment on behalf of the company for Central Provident Fund contributions, foreign worker levies, and to suppliers and creditors.
His boss had entrusted him with large sums of money of up to $20,000 at one time to make such payments.
Sometime in April 2013, Sivassankar began to misappropriate portions of the money. To avoid detection, he would make payment to creditors who were more diligent in asking for payment, and misappropriate the sums from creditors who he knew were less likely to alert his boss that they had not received payment.
He would also inform the boss that CPF payments had to be made promptly and urgently so that the latter would regularly hand him the money.
The two amounts he took were meant to pay for CPF contributions and the company's suppliers respectively.
Sometime in August 2014, his boss received a call from the CPF Board saying that Polystar had not paid its CPF contributions. To satisfy the boss's queries and to conceal his wrongdoings, Sivassankar forged a letter that was purportedly from the CPF, saying the matter had been settled. He showed it to his boss, who eventually found out the truth when the suppliers informed him that they had not been paid.
Sivassankar claimed that he had misappropriated money from the company due to his dissatisfaction with his salary, working hours and work responsibilities, and his greed. He admitted he had used the money to finance his own luxuries.
In all, he had misappropriated $115,515 from Polystar from April 2013 to September 2014. No restitution had been made.
In the other case, the court heard that Sivassankar was working as a salesman with SG Vehicles Global in Bukit Merah Central when he misappropriated $67,835 made by seven customers as either deposits for the purchase of cars, and for the bidding of certificates of entitlement or licence plate numbers.
He had used the money to repay debts that he owed, and to pay his legal fees and personal expenses. He made restitution of $8,325 to one of the customers.
District Judge Kenneth Yap backdated his sentence to Feb 28 this year.
Sivassankar could have been jailed for up to 15 years and fined for each CBT charge.
Man gets 27 months for criminal breach of trust of more than $170k from 2 employers
Published
4 hours ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent
SINGAPORE - While out on bail for committing criminal breach of trust of more than $100,000 from a company, a former administrative supervisor misappropriated about $68,000 from another firm.
On Monday (July 10), Sivassankar Gunasegaran, 27, was sentenced to 27 months' jail after he pleaded guilty to three charges - misappropriating $66,586 and $35,908 from Polystar General Services and $67,835 from SG Vehicles Global.
Four forgery charges and another charge of CBT were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) David Koh said that Sivassankar joined Polystar, which provides cleaning and landscaping services, in January 2013.
His duties included making payment on behalf of the company for Central Provident Fund contributions, foreign worker levies, and to suppliers and creditors.
His boss had entrusted him with large sums of money of up to $20,000 at one time to make such payments.
Sometime in April 2013, Sivassankar began to misappropriate portions of the money. To avoid detection, he would make payment to creditors who were more diligent in asking for payment, and misappropriate the sums from creditors who he knew were less likely to alert his boss that they had not received payment.
He would also inform the boss that CPF payments had to be made promptly and urgently so that the latter would regularly hand him the money.
The two amounts he took were meant to pay for CPF contributions and the company's suppliers respectively.
Sometime in August 2014, his boss received a call from the CPF Board saying that Polystar had not paid its CPF contributions. To satisfy the boss's queries and to conceal his wrongdoings, Sivassankar forged a letter that was purportedly from the CPF, saying the matter had been settled. He showed it to his boss, who eventually found out the truth when the suppliers informed him that they had not been paid.
Sivassankar claimed that he had misappropriated money from the company due to his dissatisfaction with his salary, working hours and work responsibilities, and his greed. He admitted he had used the money to finance his own luxuries.
In all, he had misappropriated $115,515 from Polystar from April 2013 to September 2014. No restitution had been made.
In the other case, the court heard that Sivassankar was working as a salesman with SG Vehicles Global in Bukit Merah Central when he misappropriated $67,835 made by seven customers as either deposits for the purchase of cars, and for the bidding of certificates of entitlement or licence plate numbers.
He had used the money to repay debts that he owed, and to pay his legal fees and personal expenses. He made restitution of $8,325 to one of the customers.
District Judge Kenneth Yap backdated his sentence to Feb 28 this year.
Sivassankar could have been jailed for up to 15 years and fined for each CBT charge.
