SINGAPORE - A 40-year-old businessman conned a Korean salesman of more than $260,000, a court heard.

Leow Wei Biem was supposed to help Mr Park Dong Gu set up a tuition centre, but instead misappropriated the cash.

On Monday (Oct 17), Leow was sentenced to eight months' jail after he pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal breach of trust.

The court heard that Leow was the sole director and shareholder of Hope Educator. He was also involved in the car repair business.

Mr Park was in the business of selling in-car cameras and got to know Leow through business dealings.

In 2014, Leow told Mr Park that he had been a private tutor and wanted to set up a tuition centre.

Mr Park proposed investing $200,000 into the venture and after Leow agreed, sourced for funds through his business contacts in Korea.

Between October and November 2014, Mr Park's contacts transferred $230,665.86 into Hope Educator's corporate bank account.

Later, Leow asked for $50,000 more and Mr Park personally invested $30,000 in the purported venture.

But by June last year, Leow had yet to set up any tuition centre. Instead, he had spent the money.

Leow has paid back all the money he misappropriated.

The maximum punishment for criminal breach of trust is seven years' jail and a fine.

Correction note: An earlier version of this article misspelled Leow Wei Biem's name. We are sorry for the error.