The former manager of Lasik Surgery Clinic (LSC) was charged yesterday with conspiring with an eye surgeon to misappropriate about $474,000.

Felix Huang Keming, 62, also faces nine charges of instigating an employee in 2005 to make false entries in the clinic's chequebook register.

The entries stated that cheques ranging from $2,520 to $79,000 had been issued to US Imaging Consultancy.

Huang, who is now retired, had allegedly abetted former national swimmer Marc Tay Tze-Hsin in 2005 to misappropriate $474,124.

Between 2009 and 2013, Huang was executive chairman of Singapore Medical Group, the parent company of LSC.

Dr Tay, 55, then a director of Pacific Healthcare Specialist Services (PHSS), was fined $30,000 in February last year on three amended charges of criminal misappropriation of $204,325, and another $2,000 for breaching the Companies Act.

The ophthalmologist was originally accused of cheating his employer PHSS by concealing payments for operations he was doing as a visiting consultant at LSC.

Under an agreement signed with PHSS, he was to hand over all generated income to the firm, which would pay him an annual gross remuneration of $396,000, coupled with certain bonuses.

Subsequently, Dr Tay became a visiting consultant at LSC.

PHSS agreed to be paid a monthly fee of $2,500 by LSC for work done by him. But between December 2005 and December 2006, LSC paid Dr Tay separate fees of $445,874, which he concealed from PHSS.

Huang is accused of helping Tay with the misdeed.

Huang, represented by Mr Abraham Vergis, had his bail doubled to $100,000 so he could travel to Europe for the next two weeks.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled on Aug 6.

The maximum punishment for criminal breach of trust is 10 years' jail and a fine.

If convicted of wilfully intending to defraud by falsifying a book belonging to his employer, he can be jailed for up to seven years and/or fined.