Crimes and ‘calculated lies’ of Yang Yin merit 10-12 year jail term: DPP

Hedy Mok (left) leading her aunt Chung Khin Chun out of court, together with other family members. Photo: Nicholas Yong

Former tour guide Yang Yin spun a web of “calculated lies” in his attempts to evade the law, and showed a “total lack of respect for the judicial process”, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sanjiv Vaswani.

Yang, 42, abused the “profound quality and degree of trust” that his victim Chung Khin Chun, 89, had shown in him, which was a “deep betrayal”. Furthermore, Vaswani noted, Yang had shown a lack of remorse, compounded by his failure to make restitution to Chung.

Given the extensive number of aggravating factors, Vaswani asked for a sentence of 10 to 12 years for the Chinese national, in his sentencing submission on Friday (9 September).

Last month, Yang pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal breach of trust for misappropriating $1.1 million from Chung, a widow. Yang misappropriated $500,000 and $600,000 from her, in 2010 and 2012, respectively.

‘Numerous cunning deceptions’

Yang Yin abused the elderly Chung’s trust, said the DPP. Yahoo Singapore file photo

The DPP noted the extent to which Yang had gone in order to hide his crimes. For example, with regard to the first charge of misappropriating $500,000, Yang realised that if he were to remit such a large sum to China from his bank account in Singapore, questions might be asked as he was unemployed and had no source of income in Singapore.

In February 2010, he therefore got Chung to remit the money to China, on the false premise that he would use the money to buy a painting titled “Yin Ma Tu” by the renowned painter Xu Bei Hong.

Yang admitted in an earlier hearing that he pocketed the money instead, and bought a “cheap knockoff” in China for $200. He also procured a falsified receipt for the equivalent amount.

Subsequently, when Yang was questioned by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), he repeated the lie “more than a dozen times” that the painting was genuine.

On another occasion, when Yang was brought by CAD officers to Chung’s house at 2F Gerald Crescent, he had “the audacity” to select five paintings which he claimed he had purchased using the separate sum of $600,000, said Vaswani.

The ‘flippancy of Yang’

Yang’s lawyer Irving Choh, who replaced his previous lawyer Joseph Liow in April. Photo: Nicholas Yong

Vaswani also took issue with Yang’s conduct during his lengthy trial, which he said had repeatedly caused inconvenience to the Court.

For example, after indicating his desire to plead guilty on 8 July, Yang changed his mind after a plead-guilty mention date had been set. Then, while giving evidence at a hearing in August, he asked to speak to his lawyer and proceedings were adjourned.

The next day, Yang refused to come out of the witness room and asked to “change the DPP”. This was refused, and he then claimed that he was not feeling well.

At the next hearing on 15 August, Yang asked to speak to the Deputy Presiding Judge, which was also refused. The following day, he decided to plead guilty. All of these circumstances, said Vaswani, were “highly aggravating”.

Mitigating circumstances

Yang Yin and Chung Khin Chun were genuinely close, said his lawyer. Photo: Weng Yandan, who is Yang Yin’s wife

In his mitigation plea, Yang’s lawyer Irving Choh asked for a sentence of no more than three years. “I say that my client is arguably no better than the many stories we hear of a younger person ‘cheating’ the feelings of an older person. Should my client deserve a heavier punishment as a result?”

Choh said that his client’s desire to pay off his family’s debts had gotten the better of him, as he was overtaken by “moments of folly and desperation”. These debts had been accrued from his late grandmother’s illness.

A “substantial amount” of the $1.1 million in question was used to pay his family’s debts by Yang, who is also a first-time offender and suffers from an acute stress disorder.

Further, Yang and Chung had enjoyed a genuine “grandmother-grandson” relationship, and “lived happily together” from 2009 to 2014. On two occasions, she even gave him ang pows, or red packets, which totaled $16,000.

As evidence of their close relationship, several photos of the duo were produced, including one that showed Yang clipping her toenails.

But the DPP noted that the photos had been taken on 20 August, 2014, just under three weeks after Chung’s niece Hedy Mok filed a civil suit against Yang Yin. Further, Yang became aware of Chung’s dementia diagnosis on 12 August.

Vaswani also pointed out that despite Yang’s claims that Chung needed his assistance at home, he did not spend significant amount of time with the widow throughout the day.

Records from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (“ICA”) showed that between September 2009 and September 2014, Yang travelled out of Singapore on 43 occasions and was away a total of 307 days.

The case will resume on 21 September, when Judge Bala Reddy will hear further submissions from both sides.