With one-third remission, Wang Baosen may be out by early May. - ST ILLUSTRATION
SINGAPORE: Chinese national Wang Baosen has been sentenced to 13 months in jail, the third accused in Singapore’s largest money laundering case to be convicted following a probe that started in 2021.
As part of his plea offer, the 32-year-old has forfeited his assets worth S$8 million believed to be benefits from illegal gambling offences abroad.
With one-third remission, he may be out by early May.
Baosen pleaded guilty on April 16 to two charges. Six other charges were taken into consideration.
He admitted to using over $1.4 million from a company, Hornet Bee International Trading, to pay for 10 per cent of the purchase price of an upscale condominium unit in Orchard Road.
Baosen also admitted to possessing nearly $600,000 in an HSBC bank account in Singapore, with the monies suspected to be proceeds from illicit gambling offences.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Foo Shi Hao, who sought 13 to 15 months in jail for Baosen, said his case bears many similarities to that of Su Haijin, one of the 10 foreigners arrested in the money laundering probe.
The Cypriot national, who jumped from the second-floor balcony of a good class bungalow during the police raid on Aug 15, 2023, was sentenced to 14 months’ jail on April 4 after pleading guilty to three charges, with 11 charges taken into consideration.
DPP Foo said both accused had pleaded guilty to two money laundering charges each, adding that the amount of money laundered was similar, at over $2 million each.
The DPP noted that unlike Su, Baosen did not cheat the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore in his proceeded charges.
Defence lawyer Favian Kang sought 13 months’ jail for his client, saying his overall criminality is lower than Su’s.
Kang said Su’s seized assets worth around $171 million is more than 20 times that of the assets seized in Baosen’s case.
He added that unlike Su, his client did not resist arrest and had cooperated with the authorities in their investigations.
The lawyer said his client consents to forfeiting 100 per cent of his criminal proceeds. He also wishes to be reunited with his two young daughters and his wife.
Baosen was initially charged on Aug 16, 2023 with two counts of money laundering relating to possessing criminal benefits from illegal remote gambling offences.
The Commercial Affairs Department also accused him of being linked to a person on the run.
Baosen had moved here with his wife and children in January 2022. While in Singapore, he secured a dependant pass linked to his wife’s supposed employment here.
During the probe, Baosen was accused of paying for a Toyota Alphard Hybrid Elegance with funds that came from illegal remote gambling offences.
He insisted that he borrowed money from a relative to buy the car, but later told police he had overseas sources of income, including one million yuan ($190,650) of profits from his family’s tea plantation business in China between 2019 and 2023.
He later admitted to working with his cousin, Wang Bingang, at Hong Li International Entertainment, an illegal remote gambling site.
His relatives, including his mother, brother and niece, were denied passes to enter and remain in Singapore after his arrest.
While in remand, the father of two, who owns passports from China and Vanuatu, tried unsuccessfully to secure bail in September 2023 and again in November the same year.
Prosecutors argued against bail, saying his wealth was tainted. They added that his wife had property in Singapore worth $14 million, and more than $3.3 million in four bank accounts.
On April 2, Cambodian national Su Wenqiang was sentenced to 13 months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering. The 32-year-old was the first in the group to be sentenced.
He had 11 charges in total. - The Straits Times/ANN
