Ex-employee of SIA Engineering Company admits to cheating charges involving over $96k

A former engineering supervisor at a company that provides maintenance services for Singapore Airlines’ aircraft fleet has admitted to cheating offences involving more than $96,000.

Leong Siew Pui was working for Singapore Airlines Engineering Company (SIAEC) when he committed the offences in 2017. He started working at the company in 1978 but is no longer employed there. Court documents did not disclose when he left the company.

The 68-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating on Jan 28.

Three other counts of cheating will be considered during his sentencing.

For two of the charges linked to nearly $39,000 in total, he duped SIAEC into believing that a company called Aittix Engineering had provided repair services, which were not done at all.

Leong has made full restitution involving this amount.

On his third cheating charge involving more than $57,000, SIAEC was deceived into paying for maintenance and repair services as it believed that Aittix had provided them.

In reality, Leong was the one who had provided such services. He had wanted to become an external contractor for SIAEC after his retirement.

Besides the restitution, he also surrendered to the police profits totalling more than $63,000.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Chua said that while working for SIAEC, Leong’s tasks included supervising and maintaining its equipment.

The DPP also told the court that SIAEC engaged independent contractors to perform maintenance and repair services for aircraft parts.

Leong was approaching retirement age in 2009 when he came up with an idea to provide such services for SIAEC as an external contractor after he retired.

“(He) felt that he was better placed to perform maintenance and repair services for SIAEC than external contractors,” DPP Chua said.

Around 2009, Leong asked the owner of Aittix, which was then involved in a business linked to printing services, if he was interested to provide maintenance and repair services.

The owner initially refused to be part of the arrangement as he had no experience performing maintenance works.

Leong then asked the man if Aittix could instead be used to bid for contracts in an SIAEC open tender.

The owner agreed to this arrangement as he felt that Aittix would benefit from having reputable clients such as SIAEC.

Leong did not work for Aittix or hold any positions in it, but he used Aittix’s name in 2009 to make a successful bid for it to be a vendor of SIAEC.

It could not be confirmed during investigations if he had made use of confidential information in SIAEC to make the successful bid, the court heard.

DPP Chua said that Aittix did not provide any of the maintenance and repair services specified in more than 40 invoices it had issued to SIAEC.

He added: “The accused provided most of these services... save for two invoices... for which no repair service was provided at all.

“The accused provided the maintenance and repair services... during his (days off) or after office hours on a working day.”

Without revealing details, the DPP said that in January 2019, police received information about a suspected case of fraud at SIAEC. Leong was charged in court in 2023.

On Jan 28, DPP Chua urged the court to sentence Leong to between nine and 11 months’ jail, stressing that the offences were premeditated.

Defence lawyer Gino Hardial Singh from Abbots Chambers, however, pleaded for his client to be given five months’ jail.

Mr Singh told the court that Leong is now working as a private-hire driver and performs odd jobs to make ends meet.

The lawyer told the court that work was indeed performed over offences linked to four of his client’s charges.

He added: “Leong does not take any risks or shortcuts when it comes to the inspection and maintenance of aircraft engines.

“Leong has been a long-serving stalwart of SIAEC and he has never compromised on safety. He has always ensured that every task – and every vehicle he is entrusted with – is done diligently and dutifully.”

Leong will be sentenced on Feb 18.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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