SINGAPORE: (Bernama) Singapore’s State Court on Tuesday (Oct 6) fined two men S$3.35 million (S$1=RM3.20) each for importing more than 4.5 million litres of diesel from Malaysia without the required declarations, thereby evading duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Singapore Customs said the two Singaporeans, Chua E Hong, 51, and Ng Leok Kwee, 48, each pleaded guilty to three charges of fraudulent evasion of duty under the Customs Act.
The charges involved the importation of 4,527,099 litres of automotive diesel oil between April and December 2024, with about S$905,419 in duty evaded.
The court also took into consideration 16 other charges during the two men’s sentencing, comprising six charges for fraudulent evasion of duty and 10 charges of fraudulent evasion of GST.
The total duty and GST evaded by the two men amounted to about S$2,500,205, Singapore Customs said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to Customs, the pair devised a scheme to source cheaper diesel from Malaysia and import it into Singapore without declaring the imports or obtaining the required Cargo Clearance Permits.
It said the duty-unpaid diesel was subsequently resold to customers in Singapore to increase the profits of CNC Petroleum Pte Ltd, of which Chua was the managing director and Ng was the executive director.
"Acting on information received, Singapore Customs investigated and uncovered the scheme to import diesel into Singapore without the required declarations and permits.
"Under the scheme, CNC purchased the diesel from suppliers' terminals in Pengerang, Johor,” it said.
Singapore Customs said a vessel collected the diesel and transported it into Singapore’s territorial waters, where it was transferred at Selat Pauh Petroleum Anchorage to two smaller vessels on multiple occasions.
"The diesel was subsequently transported to Penjuru Terminal and transferred to tanker trucks for distribution to customers in Singapore.
"Ng coordinated the scheduling of the vessels and tanker trucks, as well as the collection and transfer of the diesel,” it said. - Bernama
