THE middleman in the illegal kidney-for-sale case started his 14-month jail term on Wednesday afternoon, after the High Court dismissed his appeal against his sentence.

Justice V. K. Rajah, sending out a message that organ trafficking will not be tolerated in Singapore, said the sentence was 'amply justified.'

'The appellant has peddled deceit, trafficked in organs and profiteered from misery,' said the judge.

Justice Rajah said there was no doubt in his mind that Wang 'must be fixed with the lion's share of the stigma of culpability' compared to the other parties implicated in the matter.

Wang Chin Sing, 44, received the stiffest sentence among four men who have been sentenced in the case.

Ailing retail magnate Tang Wee Sung, 56, who bought a kidney through Wang, was fined a total of $17,000 and jailed a day.

An Indonesian man who offered his kidney to Mr Tang was jailed two weeks, while another Indonesian man who sold his kidney to another recipient, Ms Juliana Soh, was jailed 3 1/2 months and fined $2,000.

Wang appealed against his sentence. His lawyer, Mr Shashi Nathan, argued for his jail term to be reduced, contending that Wang was not the prime mover behind the organ trades.

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheng Howe Ming argued that Wang was the crucial link between the donors and recipients.

The DPP argued that Wang was exploiting the vulnerable, pointing to how Wang raised his asking price from $8,000 (for Ms Soh) to $300,000 for Mr Tang.