Woman siphoned $800k, jailed

Woman siphoned $800k, jailed
She spent lavishly on her married lover who made her pregnant six times. She terminated each of them.
By Elena Chong, Courts Correspondent

A WOMAN who siphoned more than $800,000 from a company for over three years was jailed for 66 months on Thursday.

Frances Leong Kit Jin, 30, was an administrative officer at Fuji Horiguchi Engineering when she forged company cheques and misappropriated money between 2003 and 2007.

Her lawyer said when her source of income was depleted in 2003, she began to siphon money from her company to support her high living and her married lover.

The prosecution proceeded on 15 of 335 charges against her. They were mainly for forging company cheques.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Der Lim told the court on Monday that her job scope included preparing payment vouchers, reconciling bank statements and handling general administrative and staff matters.

For payments to suppliers, she was supposed to submit supporting payment vouchers for approval before her boss would sign the cheques.

A bank staff alerted her boss on Sept 12, 2007 of discrepancies of his signatures on two cash cheques for $3,267 and $1,890.

Upon checking the victim realised he did not issue the two cash cheques and stopped payment.

An internal audit showed she misappropriated $821,615 between 2003 and 2007.

She was arrested at her home on Oct 17, 2007. Property totalling $60,986 was recovered, mainly jewellery. A $10,000 Rolex watch was also recovered.

Poice seized $7,000 from her sister-in-law and $2,000 from her lover, Mr Ng Kok Huat, 51.

Pleading for leniency, lawyer P.O. Ram said his client, who came to know Mr Ng when she was 18 in 1996, paid for his car loans, petrol and other expenses including travel overseas. She also bought him expensive clothing, watches and his collections of gemstones, crystals and Chinese tea pots.

Counsel said Mr Ng informed Leong he was married in 2007 but she continued to sacrifice herself for his love.

Over a period of time, she became pregnant on six occasions and had terminated each of them.

After her arrest, the lawyer said Mr Ng abandoned her.

The lawyer said after serving her prison term, Leong hopes to 'impart her experience to other errant souls''. She regretted the pain and suffering caused to her parents and regretted the loss caused to her employers.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_323534.html