Channel News Asia
In 2020, Chin arranged to purchase millions of masks for hospitals in the United States.
As the transaction involved a large quantity of medical supplies, Chin had to show that his company had sufficient funds, in part by having a law firm prepare a letter of attestation.
To obtain this letter, Chin submitted forged documents to the law firm, including a bank statement and screenshot showing a balance of more than S$1 billion (US$752 million).
Another letter of reference he forged stated another bank account had a balance of nearly S$10 billion.
As part of the process, Chin also submitted a forged letter from the Prime Minister’s Office, thanking him for his efforts in helping Singapore provide medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He had got this letter from his previous company, but changed its contents so that the letter was addressed to him.
Around six people lodged police reports against Chin over the deception. Some of them conducted checks that revealed discrepancies in what Chin had told them.
Chin was initially given a 24-month conditional warning on Jan 8, 2021 for these offences, but was prosecuted on them when he committed a subsequent crime.
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