SINGAPORE: A man convicted of evading duties for over 2,500 imported motor vehicles will serve more than nine years in jail after failing to pay the fine for his offences.
Clement Lee, who was at the relevant time a director of motor vehicle wholesaler and retailer Crownston Line, was fined S$14 million (US$11 million) on Feb 25 for fraudulent evasion of duty.
He avoided the duties by suppressing the declared values of 2,523 imported motor vehicles between July 2016 and April 2022, said the Singapore Customs and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Wednesday (Mar 11).
“Lee did not pay the fine for his Customs offences and will serve 112 months' imprisonment in default,” they added in a press release.
Lee, 44, pleaded guilty to eight charges of fraudulent evasion of duty amounting to about S$5,197,564.
Another 15 charges of fraudulent evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and incorrect declaration were taken into consideration during sentencing, said the Singapore Customs and LTA.
Investigations by Singapore Customs revealed that Lee contacted and requested that overseas suppliers suppress the values indicated in their invoices.
An employee, Sim Yan Min, assisted Lee in preparing the documents for submission to Customs, said the authorities.
Lee admitted that by doing so, Crownston would pay lower duties and GST, reducing business costs.
To avoid detection, the company made at least two payments for each order of imported cars, said the authorities.
The first payment would tally with the suppressed amount reflected in the invoice declared to Customs.
“The subsequent payments would be the balance paid to overseas suppliers through various remittance houses, to avoid detection of these additional payments, which would reveal the actual values of the vehicles imported,” said Singapore Customs and LTA.
Lee was also sentenced to 12 months’ jail for under-declaring the values of vehicles when registering them with LTA, allowing him to underpay the vehicles’ additional registration fee.
CNA has contacted LTA and Singapore Customs to clarify if Lee will serve the 112 months' jail in default of paying the fine concurrently with the 12-month sentence or in addition to that sentence.
Lee pleaded guilty to three amalgamated charges for providing incorrect information related to the value of 976 motor vehicles.
“Four similar amalgamated charges involving another 1,505 motor vehicles were taken into consideration during sentencing,” said the authorities.
“These incorrect declarations resulted in a total additional registration fee shortfall of S$39,130,302.”
The court ordered Lee to repay the outstanding amount to LTA.
Sim, the employee, was found complicit in Lee’s scheme since he assisted in preparing the documents to be submitted to Customs. He also handled the remittance of excess payments to Crownston's overseas suppliers for the imported cars.
“Sim admitted that Lee had told him that the remittance of balance payments were excess payments meant for Crownston's overseas suppliers, as the actual values of the imported cars had been under-declared to Customs,” said the authorities.
The 41-year-old was fined S$6.8 million on Apr 8
The charges corresponded to the duties for 1,120 imported motor vehicles.
Another eight charges for abetting the fraudulent evasion of GST and incorrect declaration were taken into consideration during his sentencing.
As Sim did not pay the fine, he is currently serving 72 months’ imprisonment in default, said the authorities.
Any person convicted of involvement in the fraudulent evasion of any duty or GST on imported goods can be fined up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or imprisoned for up to two years.
Anyone who gives incorrect information in relation to any matter affecting the amount of additional registration fee can be fined up to S$10,000 or face up to six months’ jail, with the maximum penalty doubled for amalgamated charges.
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Clement Lee, who was at the relevant time a director of motor vehicle wholesaler and retailer Crownston Line, was fined S$14 million (US$11 million) on Feb 25 for fraudulent evasion of duty.
He avoided the duties by suppressing the declared values of 2,523 imported motor vehicles between July 2016 and April 2022, said the Singapore Customs and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Wednesday (Mar 11).
“Lee did not pay the fine for his Customs offences and will serve 112 months' imprisonment in default,” they added in a press release.
OVER S$5 MILLION WORTH OF EVADED DUTIES
Lee, 44, pleaded guilty to eight charges of fraudulent evasion of duty amounting to about S$5,197,564.
Another 15 charges of fraudulent evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and incorrect declaration were taken into consideration during sentencing, said the Singapore Customs and LTA.
Investigations by Singapore Customs revealed that Lee contacted and requested that overseas suppliers suppress the values indicated in their invoices.
An employee, Sim Yan Min, assisted Lee in preparing the documents for submission to Customs, said the authorities.
Lee admitted that by doing so, Crownston would pay lower duties and GST, reducing business costs.
To avoid detection, the company made at least two payments for each order of imported cars, said the authorities.
The first payment would tally with the suppressed amount reflected in the invoice declared to Customs.
“The subsequent payments would be the balance paid to overseas suppliers through various remittance houses, to avoid detection of these additional payments, which would reveal the actual values of the vehicles imported,” said Singapore Customs and LTA.
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Lee was also sentenced to 12 months’ jail for under-declaring the values of vehicles when registering them with LTA, allowing him to underpay the vehicles’ additional registration fee.
CNA has contacted LTA and Singapore Customs to clarify if Lee will serve the 112 months' jail in default of paying the fine concurrently with the 12-month sentence or in addition to that sentence.
Lee pleaded guilty to three amalgamated charges for providing incorrect information related to the value of 976 motor vehicles.
“Four similar amalgamated charges involving another 1,505 motor vehicles were taken into consideration during sentencing,” said the authorities.
“These incorrect declarations resulted in a total additional registration fee shortfall of S$39,130,302.”
The court ordered Lee to repay the outstanding amount to LTA.
Sim, the employee, was found complicit in Lee’s scheme since he assisted in preparing the documents to be submitted to Customs. He also handled the remittance of excess payments to Crownston's overseas suppliers for the imported cars.
“Sim admitted that Lee had told him that the remittance of balance payments were excess payments meant for Crownston's overseas suppliers, as the actual values of the imported cars had been under-declared to Customs,” said the authorities.
The 41-year-old was fined S$6.8 million on Apr 8
The charges corresponded to the duties for 1,120 imported motor vehicles.
Another eight charges for abetting the fraudulent evasion of GST and incorrect declaration were taken into consideration during his sentencing.
As Sim did not pay the fine, he is currently serving 72 months’ imprisonment in default, said the authorities.
Any person convicted of involvement in the fraudulent evasion of any duty or GST on imported goods can be fined up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or imprisoned for up to two years.
Anyone who gives incorrect information in relation to any matter affecting the amount of additional registration fee can be fined up to S$10,000 or face up to six months’ jail, with the maximum penalty doubled for amalgamated charges.
Continue reading...