Ex-boss gets jail term for cheating

By Elena Chong

The former boss of Singapore-listed magazine publisher and property development firm Eastern Holdings ("Eastern") was sentenced to four years in jail for cheating.

Stephen Tay Thian Boon, 57, will also be barred from acting as a director in Singapore for five years after his release.

Tay was found guilty after a 10-day trial of cheating the firm's then financial controller, Mr Lim Jiah Sheng, on Jan 13, 2005.He hid from Mr Lim and the board the fact that he was getting a $400,000 cut from a $1 million loan from Eastern to another company called Dormitory Investment ("DIPL").

The court heard that Tay was approached by a personal friend, Mr Granner Lim Kian Boo, who previously ran a printing business that dealt with Eastern.On behalf of DIPL, Mr Granner Lim asked Tay for $600,000, which was the amount DIPL needed to complete $12 million deal to buy a foreign worker dormitory in Kaki Bukit Avenue 3.

Tay wanted $400,000 to "sweeten the deal".But instead of making the loan personally, he got Eastern to lend the cash. He received his "payment" from DIPL in March 2006, around 14 months after the loan deal was signed.

Tay's lawyer Sunil Sudheesan said in mitigation that neither company suffered any loss.He also highlighted Tay's charitable work, saying that he has donated significant sums to churches, the Children's Cancer Foundation, the Singapore Thong Chai Medication Institution and the Yellow Ribbon Fund.

But District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said the $400,000 which Tay earned was quite significant.He also pointed out that there had been a high degree of trust put in Tay, who could have been jailed for up to seven years and/or fined for cheating.

Adapted from "The Straits Times" Aug 13, 2015.

With reference to the above article, advise on the directors' duties that Tay had breached and the grounds on which he would be disqualified as a director.