SINGAPORE - He allegedly forged income tax documents to make the bank believe that his clients were earning a higher annual income or had enough cash to qualify for housing loans.

On Thursday (Nov 9), former bank officer Paul Liew Ziguang, 30, was charged in court with 13 counts of forgery for the purpose of cheating involving housing loans of $7.7 million.

He was a mortgage specialist with OCBC Bank when he allegedly forged customers' Inland Revenue Authority (Iras) notices of assessment to deceive the bank into believing that the clients met the regulatory requirements in their applications for housing loans. He was accused of committing the offences between 2014 and 2015.

The loans disbursed by the bank to the 11 customers involved ranged from $244,000 to $1.2 million each, amounting to $7.7 million in total.

Liew indicated that he wishes to plead guilty.

Asked by District Judge Christopher Goh if he has a lawyer, Liew said that he intends to look for one.

His case will be mentioned on Nov 23, with his bail extended until then.

If convicted, he can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined on each charge.