A former accounts officer with a trading and services company who forged 95 company cheques and misappropriated $634,000 was jailed for 50 months on Thursday. Jenny Chew Siew Hoon, 45, was working in BES Technology when she committed the crimes over 31/2 years.

Chew, who left the company in February last year, pleaded guilty to 21 charges of forgery involving $276,000. The remaining 74 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

A district court heard that Chew's job scope included preparing bills and payment to suppliers and customers, paying salaries and handling general administrative matters. In 2009 she discovered that BES Technology's cheques could be amended after the two bosses had signed them. She decided to use this loophole to misappropriate the company's money.

After the cheques had been signed, she would inflate the payable amount on the cheque by inserting an additional numerical figure. She would also insert additional words to reflect the inflated amount that was drawn on the cheque. Between Jan 5, 2009 and Jan 16 last year, she forged 95 company cheques and misappropriated $634,000.

The money was deposited in two accounts in her name and that of her husband's.

She used the money for family expenses, her mother's medical expenses and her children's tuition fees. She also used the proceeds to pay a deposit of $60,000 for a Volkswagen Touran car in December 2011. She bought a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch worth $25,380. She made partial restitution of $65,692

She could have been jailed for up to 15 years and fined on each charge.