A THIRD individual in the more than S$3 billion money laundering case has been sentenced to 13 months’ jail.
Wang Baosen, a Chinese and Vanuatu passport holder, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Apr 16) to two charges of money laundering. Six others were taken into consideration in sentencing.
Wang was found to have possessed nearly S$600,000 in benefits of criminal conduct in an HSBC bank account. The criminal conduct was namely offences related to unlawful remote gambling operation overseas, the charge sheet noted. He was handed six months’ jail.
Wang 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 his wife He Huifang’s name. The amount was taken from a company, Hornet Bee International Trading. For this charge, he was sentenced to 13 months’ jail.
Both sentences are to run concurrently and backdated to Aug 15, 2023, when he was arrested in an islandwide anti-money laundering blitz.
Of the six charges taken into consideration, one noted that he instigated He 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.
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Wang was also charged over lying to a Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) 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. He 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.
Wang told the officer that nearly S$500,000 he received in a UOB bank account was a repayment of a loan from his friend, and said the money in a Maybank account was from the sale of two commercial properties that belonged to He. However, these were untrue.
Another two charges were related to him making false statements to the Controller of Work Passes under the Manpower Ministry. One charge noted that he told the Controller of Work Passes that he was to be employed as an assistant marketing manager at a firm known as Tonta, but had no intention of doing so. The second noted that he 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.
The last two charges taken into consideration were related to money laundering. Wang was 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.
Two others who pleaded guilty, Su Haijin and Su Wenqiang, were jailed 14 months and 13 months, respectively.
