Parquet company founder gets more prison time for cheating banks, supplier also jailed

The founder of a parquet company, who was initially sentenced to three years’ jail for cheating banks into disbursing $2 million in loans to a timber supplier, will now have to serve eight more months in prison.

On Feb 19, the High Court handed down a 44-month jail term to Jason Sim Chon Ang, following an appeal by the prosecution against his initial sentence.

Tjioe Chi Minh, who was the managing director of timber company Tati Trading at the time of Sim’s offences, was initially cleared of the charges he faced.

But Tjioe has now been sentenced to 30 months’ jail, after the High Court also allowed the prosecution’s appeal against his acquittal.

Their current ages were not stated in the High Court judgment.

Sim was the founder and chief executive of Jason Parquet Specialist (JPS) at the time of the offences between 2012 and 2015.

JPS was a wholly owned subsidiary of public-listed company Jason Parquet Holdings. JPS was liquidated in 2016, while the parent company changed its name to Revez Corp in 2019.

Tati Trading was one of JPS’ biggest suppliers.

JPS had invoice financing facilities with three banks, which allowed the parquet company to obtain loans to pay its suppliers after the purchase and delivery of goods.

When JPS applied to draw down on the financing facilities, it has to provide an invoice and delivery order from its suppliers to the banks as supporting documents.

After the application is approved, the banks disburse money directly to the suppliers.

Between September 2012 and March 2015, JPS submitted five applications for invoice financing from the banks. Each application was authorised by Sim.

At the time each application was made, no goods as described in the supporting documents had been physically delivered to JPS. 

Sim was charged with five counts of cheating for deceiving the banks with false invoices and delivery orders to dishonestly induce the banks to disburse $2 million in total to Tati.

He was also charged over indirectly providing financial assistance to Tjioe in connection with the proposed acquisition of shares in Jason Parquet Holdings.

Tjioe faced five charges for intentionally aiding Sim to cheat the banks, by instructing his employee to prepare and submit the invoices and delivery orders to JPS.

The case was referred to the police after internal auditors of Jason Parquet Holdings highlighted potential overstatement in its profits and losses, and an external audit was conducted.

After a trial in a district court, Sim was convicted of the five cheating charges but acquitted of the sixth charge, while Tjioe was acquitted of all his five charges.

In July 2023, Sim was sentenced to a three-year jail term. He appealed to the High Court against his conviction and sentence.

The prosecution appealed for a longer sentence, and also appealed against the acquittals.

The appeal was heard in March 2024.

In July 2024, High Court judge Vincent Hoong allowed the prosecution’s appeal.

Justice Hoong overturned the acquittals and increased Sim’s sentence on the cheating charges. He then adjourned the case for written submissions to be filed on the sentences to be imposed on Tjioe and for Sim’s sixth charge.

On Feb 19, he imposed a one-year jail term for Sim’s sixth charge, to run concurrently with the 44-month jail term that was handed down earlier.

In upholding Sim’s conviction, Justice Hoong found that the invoices and delivery orders submitted to the banks were fictitious, and that Sim had the dishonest intention to cheat the banks.

He said Sim’s sentence for his cheating charges was raised as a deterrent sentence, which was warranted to prevent such offences from pervading Singapore’s financial ecosystem, which may lead to banks imposing stricter rules of compliance or withdrawing their trade financing services entirely. 

He also considered that Sim had carefully orchestrated the fraud for his personal benefit. 

As for Sim’s sixth charge, Justice Hoong found that the illegal payment to Tjioe was used to fund the subscription of shares of Jason Parquet Holdings.

As for Tjioe, Justice Hoong said in his judgment that he was less culpable than Sim in respect of the cheating charges.

Nonetheless, there was a considerable degree of planning and premeditation on the part of Tjioe, and Tjioe was aware of all key aspects of the fraudulent scheme, he said.

In convicting Tjioe on his abetment charges, the judge rejected Tjioe’s defence that he was unaware that the fictitious invoices and delivery orders would be used for an improper purpose.

The fictitious documents were prepared on Tjioe’s instructions, with full knowledge that they would be used by Sim to obtain fraudulent loans, said the judge.

In September 2012, DBS paid out $535,000 to Tati after approving JPS’ application for financing.

Tati then issued a cheque for $535,000 to Tjioe.

On the same day, Tjioe deposited the cheque into his personal bank account and paid $568,523.75 to subscribe for 2.5 million shares in Jason Parquet Holdings during its initial public offering (IPO). 

The police on Feb 19 said that Sim faces 11 more charges for allegedly perpetrating similar invoice financing fraud with three other suppliers to cheat five banks into disbursing a total of over $2.5 million. He is also charged over allegedly providing illegal financial assistance to one of the three suppliers to subscribe for shares in Jason Parquet Holdings’ IPO.

The suppliers concerned are alleged to have intentionally aided Sim in the invoice financing fraud; and they face between one and nine charges each, said the police.

Court proceedings are currently under way.

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

Public Prosecutor v Sim Chon Ang Jason and other appeals [2025] SGHC 24

Singapore Declaration to advance global maritime navigational safety adopted at inaugural assembly ADV: Accelerated Industry-centric Training Pathway (AITP) programme - Essentials for Line Professionals - Legal Sector (April-May)