42 months’ jail for man who made off with nearly $735k from then employer

SINGAPORE – A supervisor at a wet market stall selling pork products misappropriated nearly $735,000 in total from his employer at the time over multiple occasions between Jan 1, 2019, and April 30, 2022.

Chinese national Sun Chao, 39, who has since made partial restitution of $40,000 to JMS Trading and Supplies, was sentenced to three years and six months’ jail on May 24.

He had pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal breach of trust involving more than $565,000.

Two other similar charges linked to the remaining amount were considered during sentencing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen told the court that Sun started working for JMS around 2013 and became a supervisor at the stall in Woodlands Avenue 6 some four years later.

Sun was required to tally up sales proceeds, which were kept in a locked drawer at the stall, and to pass the monies to a JMS company representative at around 1pm every day.

But from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2019, Sun misappropriated nearly $196,000 in total.

He also made off with nearly $370,000 in total between Jan 1 and Dec 31, 2020.

Court documents did not disclose how his offences came to light, but a director at JMS lodged a police report on May 31, 2022.

On May 24, DPP Koh urged the court to give Sun a sentence of up to four years’ jail, saying: “Due to the informal nature of business at wet market stalls, it is not always possible to record the details of every transaction that takes place whenever a sale is made.

“It is in this context that the offender abused the high degree of trust reposed in him... by pilfering from the daily sales proceeds of the very stall that he was supposed to be overseeing.”

Sun’s bail has been set at $50,000 and he is expected to surrender himself at the State Courts on May 27 to begin serving his sentence.

For each count of criminal breach of trust, an offender can be jailed for up to 15 years and fined.