Jail for ex-business owner who worked with alleged accomplice to try to dupe Iras into giving grants

SINGAPORE – An executive director of an aquaculture business

worked with a director of another firm to try to dupe the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras)

 into disbursing $6,750 in grants.

The grants were under the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), which the Government introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to help employers lower costs by paying part of their employees’ wages.

But the ruse was uncovered, and no amount was paid out.

On March 25, Alvin Yap Ah Seng, 60, who used to own several firms, including Yi Hu Fish Farm Trading, was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of cheating. Eight other charges were considered during his sentencing.

His alleged accomplice, Sean Tan Zheng Wee, 31, who was then the director of biotechnology firm Insect Feed Technologies (IFT), was referred to as the “co-accused” in court documents.

Tan’s case is pending. His company was in the business of farming insects which were used for animal feed, among other things.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jordon Li told the court that the two men got to know each other in or around 2020. The court heard that Yap – “the accused” – who was in the aquaculture business, decided to invest and assist in Tan’s business as a passive partner. He invested around $20,000 in IFT and also provided resources for testing Tan’s products.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government introduced the JSS, which Iras administered. Under the initiative, employers could receive grants to co-fund between 25 per cent and 75 per cent of the first $4,600 of an employee’s wages.

These were automatically computed based on Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution data, and no applications were needed. However, to detect and prevent abuse, employers were asked to conduct self-reviews, as well as provide declarations and supporting documents to Iras.

Tan then hatched a plan to take advantage of the JSS, said DPP Li.

“He knew that payments had to be made to the CPF accounts of IFT’s employees, as the JSS was automatically computed based on CPF contributions,” the DPP said.

“In order to generate wage payment records that were consistent with the CPF contributions, the co-accused also paid out wages to the employees in question and then required these employees to return the wages to his personal bank account.”

In short, the employees would receive CPF contributions, but no wages.

The prosecutor said Tan shared his plan with Yap and asked the older man to help by providing the cash necessary to pay the CPF contributions.

Yap agreed and provided around 35 per cent of the cash needed, which came up to around $22,600.

In June 2020, a woman started work as a corporate finance intern at IFT. Under the terms of her internship, she would not be paid any salary. Despite this, she agreed to the terms, as she wanted to gain exposure by working in a start-up business, the court heard.

But in the documents Tan submitted to Iras, the woman was purportedly paid a gross monthly salary of $4,500, the court heard. Even though she had started work only in June 2020, she received a CPF contribution from IFT for the month of May 2020.

She also received $3,600 some time in June 2020, purportedly as salary from IFT for May 2020. But DPP Li said she was asked to return the amount to Tan’s personal bank account, and she complied.

The court heard Tan had tried to deceive Iras into believing that the woman was employed by IFT in May 2020, in an attempt to dishonestly induce the agency to disburse the October 2020 payout of $3,375.

Court documents stated that he committed a similar crime that year involving a second intern linked to another $3,375.

The offences came to light following a probe, and the two men were charged in court in 2024.