Ex-Sakae director Ong Siew Kwee handed 10.5-year jail term for misappropriating S$15.8 million, lying in court
[SINGAPORE] Former Sakae director Ong Siew Kwee was sentenced to 10.5 years of imprisonment on Friday (Aug 7), after having earlier been found guilty of misappropriating S$15.8 million from a joint venture linked to the Bugis Cube development and giving false evidence in court.
Ong, however, has indicated that he will appeal, and the 56-year-old who is also known as Andy has had his jail term stayed while out on S$1 million bail pending appeal.
He was convicted on one count each of abetting forgery, criminal breach of trust and lying under oath in May.
Two of his associates, former Griffin Real Estate Investment Holdings (GREIH) director Ho Yew Kong, 56, and former Gryphon Capital Management asset manager Chua Wei Tat, 41, were also convicted of giving false evidence in High Court civil proceedings related to the joint venture.
Ho and Chua were each given a one-year jail term on Friday, and they too have appealed.
The case stems from Ong’s joint venture with then‑Sakae managing director Douglas Foo in 2009 to acquire Bugis Cube through GREIH.
Ong later set up Gryphon Real Estate Investment Corporate, which became GREIH’s majority shareholder, and Gryphon Capital Management, which managed Bugis Cube units.
At the centre of the case was a lease agreement purportedly dated Mar 1, 2012, between GREIH and ERC Institute. The agreement appeared to grant tenancy over several floors of the commercial building in Bugis.
Prosecutors charged that Ong and his associates created a false paper trail to support a fabricated claim that GREIH owed compensation to ERC Institute.
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Ong then misappropriated S$15.8 million from GREIH in September 2012, claiming that it was “compensation” owed by GREIH to ERC Institute.
When GREIH’s minority shareholder, Sakae, sued, Ong, Ho, Chua and another associate Ong Han Boon gave corroborating false evidence about the origins of the lease, the prosecution said.
Ong Han Boon had earlier pleaded guilty and been jailed.
