Hits

Saturday, February 12, 2011

High Court dismisses appeal of charity cheat

SINGAPORE - A former charity manager convicted of cheating may run further afoul of the law, the High Court heard on Friday.
http://static.stomp.com.sg/site/servlet/linkableblob/stomp/318710/thumbnail/exconsultant_cheated_charities_of_over_5000-thumbnail.jpg
After her conviction, Stephanie Chee Jok Heng had harassed two key prosecution witnesses with repeated phone calls accusing them of lying in a district court.

Chee, who used false invoices to pass off her personal expenses as legitimate ones to cheat three charities, claimed Ms Seoh Bee Luan was a charity fund-raiser and paid her fund-raising commissions. Ms Seoh, however, testified the eight cheques she received from Chee were for piano lessons she gave to Chee's daughters.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gordon Oh said Chee had not fully disclosed all her calls to Ms Seoh, who had not wanted to of talk to Chee. He said Chee's actions caused Ms Seoh "to feel threatened ... to make a police report".

The police discovered no reports on "purported wrongdoings" were sent or had to be sent to the government agencies, DPP Oh said.

Justice Steven Chong rejected Chee's application to adduce fresh evidence as what she offered had been adduced earlier at the district court. He also expressed "misgivings" over the evidence and questioned its accuracy.

Chee also appealed against her 13-month jail term on Friday and sought to distinguish her case from charity scandals involving Shi Ming Yi and T T Durai.

Mr Hanam argued Chee's case involved a small sum - $5,761 - compared to the two other cases and she was a first-time offender.

Dismissing the appeal, Justice Chong agreed with the prosecution that there were "aggravating factors" present in Chee's case. The most serious, he felt, was Chee's abuse of her position of trust to cheat the three charities - Parkway Healthcare Foundation, Toa Payoh Senior Citizens' Health Care Centre and Geylang Senior Citizens' Health Care Centre.

The judge also noted the offences were committed over a 13-month period and Chee could not be considered a first-time offender.

Justice Chong also said Chee revealed "an utter lack of remorse" from the manner she conducted herself during the 21-day trial.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

No comments:

Post a Comment