Serena Chee Bee Leng, 39, was an assistant to the director of Philmore Singapore, a trading company, when she forged her boss's signatures on 106 cheques between September 2006 and October last year.

After she was dismissed, she worked in HSL Constructor in Gul Lane where she took $42,682.

At Philmore, where she had been employed since Aug 16, 2006, she forged her boss's signature on Woori Bank cheques and credited them to the company's corporate account with United Overseas Bank.

After depositing the cheques at UOB, she forged on the cheques and wrote her name, identity number on the back of the cheques with the intention of causing the bank to deliver the money to her.

In total, she made away witih US$71,951 from the company's UOB account last year and another $45,492 from its UOB corpporate Sing-dollar account.

In September and October last year, she misappropriated a total of $1,200 by cahsing two UOB cheques for $600 each.

A police report was lodged against her in October last year.

After she was dismissed, she joined HSL where she siphoned off $42,682 between April and August.

She pleaded guilty last week to 10 charges of forgery and three counts of criminal breach of trust. Ninety-nine other charges were considered.

She could have been jailed for up to seven years on each charge of forgery, as well as for each of the criminal breach of trust charges in 2006.

The current penalty for CBT is up to 15 years and a fine.