Former tour guide Yang Yin's PR status was revoked last November: ICA

Yang Yin, seen in this 2014 photo, had his Singapore permanent resident status revoked by the ICA. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - Yang Yin, the former tour guide who was convicted of cheating a rich Singaporean widow of $1.1 million, is no longer a Singapore permanent resident (PR).

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) revoked his PR status after he was sentenced in September last year to a six-year jail term for criminal breach of trust.

Confirming the revocation, the ICA told The Straits Times: "Any Permanent Resident (PR) who has been convicted of an offence will have their PR status reviewed by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. Yang Yin's PR status was revoked on 1 November 2016."

The ICA had previously said that individuals who provide false information in their application for immigration facilities will be dealt with firmly under the law.

Besides being convicted of cheating Madam Chung Khin Chun, 90, Yang was also jailed for two years and two months in Sept last year for a slew of crimes regarding his immigration status, including falsifying receipts for a sham company in order to stay in Singapore.

The 42-year-old Chinese national is serving the sentences consecutively.

When the case first broke in 2014, questions had been raised about how the former tour guide had been granted permanent residency here.

He was found and convicted by the court to have lied to the ICA that he was running a profitable business and earning a salary via his sham company Young Music and Dance Studio, so it would grant him PR status, and his wife, a long-term visit pass.

In August 2012, the law was amended to make it administratively easier for the ICA to revoke the foreigners' permanent residency.

Then, Mr S Iswaran, who was Second Minister for Home Affairs, said that while the vast majority of Singapore PRs do not pose any threat to Singapore's law and order, the amendment would send out a clear message that PRs must respect and abide by Singapore's laws.

Though Yang faces a total of eight years and two months in jail, there is a chance that he will remain in jail longer because of the prosecution has appealed the sentence.

The appeal was scheduled to be heard in the High Court on Friday (Feb 17) but was postponed. The new date has not been fixed.

Besides the criminal cases, Yang has also been sued by the widow's niece, Madam Hedy Mok, for allegedly manipulating the elderly woman into handing over her assets worth an estimated $40 million.

The civil case is still ongoing.

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