Brompton bikes case: Ex-NParks assistant director fined S$5,000

ALL content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/brompton-bikes-case/1486676.html

Former National Parks Board assistant director Bernard Lim Yong Soon, 52, was convicted of lying to three auditors in 2012 over a S$57,200 deal to buy 26 Brompton bikes after District judge Marvin Bay found that he had tried to give the auditors the wrong impression that he did not have a personal relationship with BikeHop director Lawrence Lim.

On Friday (Nov 21), both appeals by the defence and the prosecution were heard and dismissed by the High Court.

On one side, the defence lawyer for  Lim said there were lapses in the investigation and he had been unfairly convicted of lying to public servants about his relationship with a bicycle firm’s director.

On the other side, the prosecution contended that Lim’s sentence — a S$5,000 maximum fine imposed by the district judge in June — was too light and was insufficient deterrence, given the seriousness of the misconduct and how the case had triggered public outcry.

Justice Tay Yong Kwang said the amount of publicity a case generates should not affect what constitutes sufficient deterrence, he said.

“Eventually, we have to look at the facts of the case, not how much public outcry (it has created) ... in some cases, a maximum fine can serve as good deterrence,” the judge added.