Criminal trial judge erred in convicting ex-oil tycoon O.K. Lim of cheating: Defence lawyer

SINGAPORE - The criminal trial judge erred in convicting Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin of cheating charges, argued Lim's lawyer Davinder Singh during a High Court hearing on Oct 24 on his appeal against his prison sentence.

The 83-year-old had earlier been sentenced to 17 years and six months' jail on three charges of cheating and forgery, following a 62-day criminal trial. The case has been hailed as "one of the most serious cases of trade financing fraud" in Singapore.

Lim, a legend in Singapore's oil industry, in November 2024 appealed the conviction and sentences imposed, with his lawyers seeking seven years' jail. They argued that given his age, a 20-year sentence was akin to a life sentence.

Even with a one-third remission of his sentence, Lim would be released from prison only when he is 94 or 95 years old.

On Oct 24, Senior Counsel Mr Singh told High Court Justice Hoo Sheau Peng that there was no evidence that the former oil tycoon - better known as O. K. Lim - had given instructions to Hin Leong staff to submit fraudulent discounting applications to HSBC to induce the bank into disbursing some US$111.6 million (S$151.7 million) to the embattled oil trader. He also argued that there was no evidence that the amounts of money stated in the charges was delivered.

Lim was found guilty of cheating HSBC through employees of Hin Leong. This was done by claiming that oil trader had entered into two contracts to sell oil to China Aviation Oil (Singapore) and Unipec Singapore, and then applying for discounting of these purported transactions.

The State Courts found that the two transactions were complete fabrications, concocted on Lim's directions, and the discounting applications were supported by forged or fabricated documentation.

But Mr Singh, in arguing against Lim's conviction, maintained that "there's no evidence that Lim instructed anyone to submit the CAO or Unipec documents to HSBC.

"When Ms Katherine Ong (a former accounts executive at Hin Leong) took the stand, she said she was unable to remember whether she received instructions from Lim or whether it was Serene Seng," he said. Madam Seng was Lim's former personal assistant.

The lower court also found that HSBC was deceived into disbursing US$111.6 million (S$150 million) to Hin Leong, of which US$85 million remains its total outstanding loss.

But Mr Singh disagreed, saying: "The money wasn't delivered to anyone. The bank paid itself from the monies it agreed to discount."

"When monies are deposited in the customer's account, and used to reduce customer's overdraft, the bank receives it for its own benefit," he added.

"This account was in an overdraft. At the time the monies came in, Hin Leong owed HSBC amounts which the credited monies wiped out. ... There's no evidence of Hin Leong taking delivery of the monies and benefiting from it," he said.

State Courts judge Toh Han Li, in his November 2024 oral decision, noted that these were "staggeringly large sums of monies relative to other cheating cases which have come before our courts".

He also found that a deterrent sentence is warranted "to prevent offences from pervading Singapore's financial ecosystem, which may lead to banks imposing stricter rules of compliance or withdrawing their trade financing services entirely".

But Justice Toh gave an aggregate reduction of one year's imprisonment "on account of (Lim's) old age", after considering "the long aggregate sentence to be imposed, but balancing this against the gravity of the offences, the need for deterrence for the offences committed and the fact that he was still able to commit the offences when he was already 78 years old".

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He did not give further reduction on account of Lim's medical conditions which include anxiety, depression, insomnia, asthma, coronary artery disease and cerebral vascular disease with cognitive impairment and sensorineural hearing loss.

"In my view, Singapore Prisons Service's (SPS) response on the specific housing facilities does take into account and cater to (Lim's) medical conditions, and this means that it has the capability to address (Lim's) medical conditions to an acceptable standard, even if it may not be the best medical standard," the judge said.

The SPS had earlier told The Straits Times that like all inmates, Lim, who is reliant on a wheelchair, will be assessed upon his admission by a prison medical officer on his housing requirements and mobility issues.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Christopher Ong earlier said Lim's two cheating charges are "examples of the worst possible offences of cheating" and warrant a sentence of 10 years' jail per charge, while the forgery charge warrants a sentence of nine years' imprisonment. The prosecution had asked for the two cheating sentences to run consecutively for a total of 20 years.

On Sept 30, 2024, Lim and his two children, Evan Lim Chee Meng and Lim Huey Ching, agreed to pay US$3.5 billion to the liquidators of the now-defunct oil trading firm.

But the Lim family said in written statements that day that they do not have enough assets to pay the claimants and applied for bankruptcy.

They were declared bankrupt in December 2024, following a settlement of two lawsuits brought by Hin Leong's liquidators and HSBC against the Lim family. Their bankruptcy estates are being managed by trustees Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin of BDO Singapore.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.