SINGAPORE (Oct 11): The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued prohibition orders against three former insurance agents and a former bank employee for fraudulent and dishonest conduct.
Following their convictions in the State Courts of Singapore for offences involving fraud and dishonesty, MAS has banned the individuals from providing financial advisory services, or taking part in the management of any financial advisory firm under the Financial Advisers Act (FAA).
This includes acting as a director or becoming a substantial shareholder of any financial advisory firm.
The individuals are also prohibited from carrying on business as, or taking part in the management of, any insurance intermediary under the Insurance Act (IA).
The prohibition orders of between five and nine years will take effect today.
Teh Chin Hong @ Edwin Teh, a former representative of The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company (GE), was banned for nine years for misappropriating and cheating a total of about $350,000 from seven clients over a period of three years.
Teh was charged with criminal breach of trust, cheating and forgery. He was convicted in March 2018, and was sentenced to 34 months’ imprisonment.
Another former representative of GE, Joseph Michael, was slapped with a prohibition order of five years, after being convicted of criminal breach of trust in August 2016.
Michael had misappropriated approximately $15,000 from a client under the pretext that the money would be used to pay for insurance premiums. He was sentenced to 10 weeks’ imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Ng Wei Ling, a former representative of United Overseas Bank (UOB), was banned for a period of eight years.
Ng cheated seven clients of $215,000 over 18 months on the pretext of helping them invest in a fixed deposit promotion that UOB was offering, or buying an insurance policy.
She instructed them to pass her cash or transfer funds to a bank account which she claimed was used for the fixed deposit promotion. In fact, the funds were transferred into Ng’s personal bank account. She also forged the signatures of two clients on insurance application forms.
Ng was convicted of cheating and forgery, and was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment in April this year.
The fourth individual to be issued a prohibition order by MAS on Friday was Aloysius Zephaniah Lim Bing Hong, a former representative of Prudential Assurance Co Singapore (PACS).
Lim was banned for five years, after being convicted of cheating offences in March 2018.
Lim cheated a client of close to $10,000 by misleading the client to transfer monies to him under the pretext of paying for insurance policies when those policies had already lapsed.
Even after Lim had left PACS, he continued to falsely hold himself out as a representative for nearly two more years, during which time he continued to deceive the client into transferring money to him.
Lim was sentenced to 14 weeks’ imprisonment.
“Those who provide financial services to the public must be trustworthy. The four individuals convicted abused the trust that their customers placed in them, and enriched themselves at their customers’ expense,” says Loo Siew Yee, Assistant Managing Director (Policy, Payments & Financial Crime), MAS.
“MAS will not tolerate such behaviour and will take decisive action to keep such individuals out of the industry,” she adds.
