Account manager charged with embezzling $1.74M, falsifying accounts
SINGAPORE — An account manager with a shipping company was charged on Wednesday (16 October) with embezzling more than $1.74 million in company funds, and falsifying accounts to cover up his alleged crimes.
Chow Pak Thong, 65, was charged with eight counts of criminal breach of trust as a servant.
The offences were allegedly committed between January 2012 and May 2019 when he was employed with BSA Transportation, a shipping firm located at International Plaza. He is accused of encashing 78 cheques that totalled $1,742,800.
Chow, a Singaporean, also faces eight mirroring charges of falsifying 78 payment vouchers totalling the same amount during the same period of time.
He is also accused of criminal intimidation by allegedly threatening a Wong Ah Khim with a fruit knife at the firm’s office on the 12th floor of 10 Anson Road on 3 July. Court documents did not state Wong and Chow’s relationship, but Wong is listed as BSA’s agency manager in an agreement document found online.
A police report about Chow’s alleged misappropriation was made a day later.
Chow was arrested on Monday. Preliminary investigations showed that Chow had signed the company’s cheques and encashed them without approval and falsified the company’s accounts to cover up his misdeeds.
Chow will return to court on 13 November.
If convicted of criminal breach of trust as a servant, he may be jailed up to 15 years, and fined. If convicted of falsifying of accounts, he may be jailed up to 10 years and fined.
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