O.K. Lim gets 17.5 years' jail for cheating and forgery

SINGAPORE — Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin was sentenced on Monday (Nov 18) to 17 years and six months jail for three charges of cheating and forgery in what prosecutors described as "one of the most serious cases of trade financing fraud that have ever been prosecuted in Singapore".

The prosecution on Oct 15 sought a maximum sentence of 20 years for the 82-year-old better known as O.K. Lim, whose offences "affected the delivery of financial services in Singapore, and tarnished Singapore's hard-earned reputation as Asia's leading oil trading hub".

Following a 62-day criminal trial, Lim, a legend in Singapore's oil industry, was convicted in May of two cheating charges and one count of instigating forgery for the purpose of cheating. His bail of $4 million had been extended.

The former oil tycoon was found guilty of cheating HSBC through employees of his "family business", by claiming that Hin Leong had entered into two contracts to sell oil to China Aviation Oil (Singapore) and Unipec Singapore, and then applying for discounting of these purported transactions.

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The court found that the two transactions were complete fabrications, concocted on Lim's directions, and the discounting applications were supported by forged or fabricated documentation.

As a result, the bank was deceived into disbursing US$111.6 million (S$146.1 million) to Hin Leong, of which US$85 million remains its total outstanding loss.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Christopher Ong said Lim's two cheating charges are "examples of the worst possible offences of cheating" and warrant a sentence of 10 years' jail per charge, while the forgery charge warrants a sentence of nine years' imprisonment.

The prosecution had asked for the two cheating sentences to run consecutively for a total of 20 years.

In response to Lim's mitigation plea which proposed a jail term of seven years, Mr Ong said: "No weight should be given to [Lim's] age, given the gravity of the offences. Even if mitigatory weight were to be given... no more than one year's sentencing discount should be granted."

He pointed to the amount of monies cheated and the losses caused, and how Lim's offences affected Singapore's financial services and economic infrastructure and potentially undermined public confidence in the country's oil industry.

On Sept 30, Lim and his two children, Evan Lim Chee Meng and Lim Huey Ching, agreed to pay US$3.5 billion to the liquidators of the now-defunct oil trading firm.

But the Lim family said in written statements that same day that they do not have enough assets to pay the claimants and will be applying for bankruptcy.

A High Court hearing has been scheduled on Nov 26 to hear the family's bankruptcy applications.

The High Court on Sept 30 also gave the green light to a consent judgment that the Lim family reached with HSBC Holdings, which had sued them and Lim Oon Kuin's personal assistant Serene Seng Hui Choo, for US$85.3 million in damages.

That brought to an end a 50-day civil trial of both cases involving the Lim family which had been jointly heard in the High Court.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.