WANG Baosen, one of the 10 foreign nationals embroiled in the S$3 billion money laundering case, was on Thursday (Apr 11) slapped with six new charges for abetting forgery and lying to the officer in charge of his case.
This brings the total number of charges he faces to eight. He is set to plead guilty on Apr 16, and his lawyer, Adelphi Law’s Favian Kang, has indicated Wang will still be going ahead with the plea.
Among the new charges, Wang faces one for allegedly possessing nearly S$600,000 in benefits of criminal conduct in an HSBC bank account. He was allegedly involved in an unlawful remote gambling operation.
Another charge sheet noted that he instigated his wife He Huifang to submit a forged document dated Oct 21, 2022, stating that He had a loan agreement with Regili International, to HSBC as a supporting document for the receipt of the S$600,000.
He had also allegedly used around S$1.5 million in criminal proceeds to pay for 10 per cent of a unit at Park Nova condominium in Tomlinson Road under He’s name. The amount was taken from a company, Hornet Bee International Trading.
Wang was also charged over lying to a Commercial Affairs Department officer on four separate occasions between Aug 16 and Oct 18, 2023, after he was arrested on Aug 15, about the source of his funds and assets.
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He had allegedly said the Park Nova unit was paid for by He’s former boyfriend and the S$600,000 was a repayment of a loan from He’s friends and customers.
He also told the officer that nearly S$500,000 he received in a UOB bank account was a repayment of a loan from his friend, as well as said the money in a Maybank account were from the sale of two commercial properties that belonged to He. However, these were allegedly untrue.
The remaining two new charges were related to him making false statements to the authorities. One charge noted that he told the Controller of Work Passes under the Manpower Ministry that he was to be employed as an assistant marketing manager at a company known as Tonta, but had no intention of doing so.
The second noted that he had conspired with one Tan Chee Wan to make a false statement to the Controller of Work Passes, in order to renew Wang’s S Pass.
Wang was previously charged with possessing S$112,000, 4,600 yuan (S$860) and US$10, as well as a black Toyota Alphard Hybrid Elegance valued at about S$284,000, which were suspected to be benefits of criminal conduct.
Wang is set to be the third among the 10 to plead guilty. Others who pleaded guilty, Su Haijin and Su Wenqiang, were jailed 14 months and 13 months, respectively.
