Jail for man who tried to help alleged nickel trading fraudster flee; $23.3m fine for other offences

SINGAPORE - A man accused of being a contraband cigarette seller was jailed for four months after he tried to help alleged nickel trading fraudster Ng Yu Zhi flee the country.

Ang Yew Teck, who befriended Ng while they were in Changi Prison in remand in July last year, was separately hit with a $23.3 million fine over his involvement in a cigarette smuggling business.

The 50-year-old had conspired to arrange for Ng, 35, to be driven across the Causeway for $5 million with a 10 per cent deposit to be paid first.

But Ng did not pay the deposit.

On Tuesday (Aug 16), Ang was sentenced to four months' jail for conspiring to obstruct justice.

In total, he was sentenced to a jail term of three years, eight months and one week, and a fine of $23,312,000 for offences that include possessing contraband cigarettes and driving without a licence.

He was also disqualified from holding or obtaining driving licences for a year after his release.

The prosecution said Ang's case involved the fourth-largest seizure of illegal cigarettes in Singapore .

Ang did not pay the fines and will spend an additional 23 months and 110 days behind bars.

Ng, the former director of Envy Global Trading and Envy Asset Management, is facing 105 charges for his alleged involvement in a US$1.1 billion ($1.52 billion) nickel trading scam.

The court heard that days after being released from Changi Prison on Aug 17 last year, Ang met Ng and told him that he would try to find information on how the latter could flee Singapore and how much it would cost.

After the meeting, Ang contacted Shawn Liew Cheng Long, 36, to find out how Ng could leave Singapore.

Ang told Liew that Ng was involved in one of the largest cheating or criminal breach of trust cases in Singapore.

Liew, whose case is still pending, told Ang that their former boss, whom they used to smuggle contraband cigarettes for, may know of how to do it.

The former boss was identified only as "Xiao Li".

After Liew ascertained the costs involved from Xiao Li, Ang contacted Ng and arranged a meeting in October last year.

Liew informed Ng that he would need $5 million to arrange for Ng to leave Singapore and a 10 per cent deposit.

Liew and Ang told Ng that arrangements could be made for him to leave Singapore for Malaysia by car and not by boat, and that the remaining details would be finalised only after they had received the deposit.

After the meeting, Ang contacted Ng several times to ask if he would be able to pay the deposit, but Ng never paid it.

As for the Customs charges, Ang was accused of possessing duty-unpaid cigarettes that were smuggled into Singapore from Malaysia in water tanks that were welded shut.

On May 13 last year, Ang was caught with 9,049 cartons containing 200 sticks, and eight packets containing 20 sticks.

They were assorted brands of duty-unpaid cigarettes weighing a total of 1,625.076kg.

The unpaid excise duty for these cigarettes was $772,852.92.

Ang also admitted having 19 cartons containing 160 sticks, and 13 cartons containing 200 sticks, of assorted brands of duty unpaid cigarettes found in his car which weighed a total of 6.806kg.

The unpaid excise duty for these cigarettes was $3,706.36.

Ang said that he had intended to sell the cigarettes found in his car to the people living in his neighbourhood.

He had also driven a car the day he was caught without a valid driving licence or motor insurance.

For obstructing justice, Ang could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.