235:(AGC), submitted that the mitigating factors behind Teo's case were scant, as the misappropriation of money took place daily over a long period of 13 years and the amount he took was massive. They argued that Teo spent a majority of the misappropriated funds on an expensive and high-quality lifestyle, and may have hidden some of the stolen fortune for future spending in the later part of his life. His actions were premeditated and deliberate, and he was in a position of trust and had betrayed the confidence of his employers and his superiors for 13 years. His plea of guilt was only submitted in view of overwhelming evidence and in summary, they sought a deterrent and severe sentence for Teo.
211:
perceived when they made the complaint to CAD. During the investigations, the police were only able to recover $ 15 million, but subsequently, Teo decided to surrender his remaining properties back to SIA, which amounted to $ 6 million; the remaining $ 14 million were never recovered despite the efforts by the police. Aside from this, Teo was cooperative from the time he was arrested and gave every information he had about his crimes over these 13 years.
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did commit the first few crimes back in 1987 out of anger towards his employers as what he claimed, this has already became a poor excuse for Teo in his subsequent crimes as these crimes were motivated solely by his increasing greed, and Teo used the criminal proceeds to provide himself an extravagant lifestyle and spent them on expensive goods more than what many honest and law-abiding citizens would earn in their lives.
174:
himself and his wife. He made use of these accounts to keep the money he stole from the payments, and used fictitious adjustments for extra payments of allowances to enable him to embezzle money from these payments while maintaining the full due payment of each crew member's allowances. He even amended the computerized reports to enable himself from escaping detection.
115:(SIA) while he was still employed there, and the embezzlement lasted for 13 years between 1987 and 2000 before the detection of his criminal deeds and subsequent capture. Teo was charged with 26 charges of criminal breach of trust and corruption but was found guilty of ten charges; he was sentenced to a total of 24 years' imprisonment in the same year he was arrested.
689:
671:
238:
As for the defence, Teo's lawyer Kevin De Souza submitted a mitigation plea that Teo committed the offences out of dissatisfaction towards his employers who looked down on him due to his educational background, and this caused him to not be able to get a promotion to a managerial position despite his
262:
JC Tay also stated that the daily misappropriation of money took place in a systematic and sophisticated manner, and under a cleverly-hatched concealment, it took place steadily over a long period of time, which serves as an aggravating factor of the case. The judge also pointed out that even if Teo
258:
Explaining why he meted out a 24-year sentence, JC Tay stated that while Teo's plea of guilt saved the court's time and expense, Teo only did so in front of overwhelming amounts of evidence, in contrast to the guilty pleas made in certain cases of crimes that were difficult to prove. His capture did
118:
Teo's crime was considered to be the largest financial crime committed in
Singapore at the time his arrest and trial was reported. Teo had additionally used his criminal proceeds to spend on himself, building up an expensive lifestyle. His wife, who was an accomplice of his crimes, was convicted and
266:
For these reasons, JC Tay declared that Teo should be severely punished for what he did, and stated that a lengthy sentence is necessary to make Teo, who became “intoxicated” with greed, to become sober again. Hence, JC Tay meted out a six-year prison sentence for each of the ten convicted charges.
242:
These factors resulted into bitterness and anger that led to Teo's criminal spree, and greed later took over his cloud of judgement. He also claimed that he felt sorry towards his wife for manipulating her regarding the bank account and wealth they obtained, as well as towards his superiors for the
173:
Teo was able to exploit this system by using the names of crew members who did not fly on various flights to make false claims and channeled the payments to his own bank accounts. Teo also opened bank accounts under the joint names of his wife and sister-in-law, and also under the joint names of
177:
Through the embezzlement of the money, Teo accumulated a fortune and he made use of most of them to provide himself and his family with an expensive lifestyle. Teo also bought a total of seven private properties, including his own house; he also did a costly $ 280,000 worth of renovation of two
165:
As cabin crew supervisor, Teo's duty was to oversee the processing of cabin crew allowances, which were to be paid to the cabin crew members. Teo had the right to make adjustments to the allowance system, could determine the name of the crew member who was to be paid, the amount payable and the
210:
Teo was later charged with 26 criminal counts - which consisted of 25 counts of criminal breach of trust and one single charge of corruption. The investigations eventually revealed that Teo had misappropriated a total amount of $ 35 million, instead of the $ 2 million as what the SIA initially
203:(SIA), and it detected three UOB bank accounts receiving ten payments each on 15 December 1999. It was unusual as there was supposed to be one payment made per crew member on that day, and the bank accounts were under the name of Teo Cheng Kiat. This suspicious error prompted a report to the
281:
In the aftermath of the case, Teo Cheng Kiat's wife was charged in court in July 2001 for dishonestly receiving stolen property - mainly some of the misappropriated funds which her husband had given her. Despite pleading not guilty, Teo's wife was later convicted and sentenced to 18 months’
223:
five months later, on 19 June 2000, Teo Cheng Kiat pleaded guilty to ten charges of criminal breach of trust, and had the remaining 16 charges taken into consideration during sentencing. Each charge of criminal breach of trust carries the maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment.
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not result from a voluntary surrender and remorse, but it was due to his criminal conduct being discovered out of luck and coincidence. Hence, the guilty plea carried little weight. Although it was his first conviction, Teo has earned it through a dramatical magnitude of his crime.
166:
receiving bank account number. A particular type of allowance (the Meal and
Overnight Allowance), which was tax-free and payable only to cabin crew, was processed and paid directly to the cabin crew by Teo's department. Each crew member maintained a bank account with
150:(SIA) in May 1975 as a clerk. He stayed on the post for 13 years before his promotion to cabin supervisor in 1988. Teo was regarded as a reliable employee and many trusted him with his efficient and good work performance.
134:
Teo was
Chinese-educated and he completed both his elementary and secondary education in Chinese schools. Teo was later married with two sons, who were born in 1980 and 1984. Teo's elder son later became a
243:
financial losses suffered by SIA. His status as a first-time offender and timely plea of guilt, in addition to the full cooperation with the authorities were also cited as mitigating factors of the case.
162:(SIA), 34-year-old Teo Cheng Kiat began to misappropriate money from SIA. Teo's misappropriation continued even after he was promoted to cabin crew supervisor from 1 September 1988 onwards.
123:
four years later, when Chia was ordered to serve 42 years behind bars for swindling $ 117 million from four foreign banks to feed his gambling addiction and discharge his debts.
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At the time he was sentenced, Teo Cheng Kiat was regarded as the perpetrator of
Singapore's worst financial crime. Merely four years later, Teo's case was surpassed by
270:
In total, Teo was to serve 24 years in prison, with effect from the date of his arrest, though the sentence may possibly be reduced by one-third due to good behaviour.
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Of these ten prison sentences meted out, four of the terms were to be served consecutively while the remaining six were to be served concurrently.
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diligence, knowledge and efficiency in the job, and they never considered his opinion in rectifying the discovered flaws of the payment system.
293:, who swindled a total of $ 117 million from four foreign major banks to feed his gambling addiction during his time as a financial manager at
140:
170:(UOB) and the money paid would be transferred by the Bank from the airline's account to the respective crew members’ accounts directly.
824:
306:
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at the time Teo was arrested and sentenced for his crimes. He was known to be a committed family man and model son to his family.
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also sued Teo's family members, including Teo's sons and sister-in-law, to reclaim the remaining damages they suffered.
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707:"张振杰两子也被起诉两名儿子红包钱新航照样要追讨" [Teo Cheng Kiat's two sons sued by SIA, including their red packet allowance].
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of the High Court decided to sentence 47-year-old Teo Cheng Kiat to a total of 24 years’ imprisonment.
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111:(张振杰 Zhāng Zhènjíe; born 1953) is a Singaporean who was known for embezzling $ 35 million from
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On 18 January 2000, an ad-hoc internal audit was conducted on the crew allowance payments at
186:
car for $ 270,570, and even spent $ 1.85 million on jewellery, designer goods and watches.
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29:
24:
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A total of 24 years' imprisonment, consisting of four consecutive jail terms of six years
321:
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252:
120:
803:
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778:"Guilty As Charged: Chia Teck Leng led a double life and cheated banks of millions"
386:"Former accountant allegedly pocketed $ 40m: 6 other cases here involving millions"
228:
20:
311:
52:
722:"遭追讨2千万 被告家人上庭" [Accused's family sued in court for $ 20 million].
119:
served 18 months in prison. The notoriety of Teo's crime was surpassed by
463:"SIA takes action to freeze assets of ex-employee in $ 33.6m case".
207:(CAD), who arrested Teo on the same day the detection was made.
183:
297:(APB). Chia was sentenced to 42 years in jail for his crime.
251:
On 30 June 2000, the trial judge, Judicial
Commissioner (JC)
158:
Beginning from 9 February 1987, when he was still a clerk at
16:
Former
Singapore Airlines employee and white-collar convict
753:"Longest jail term for the worst case of commercial fraud"
139:(SAF) scholar while the younger son was completing his
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26 charges of criminal breach of trust (ten convicted)
273:
As of 2024, Teo had since been released from prison.
690:"SISTER-IN-LAW STILL FIGHTING LEGAL BATTLE WITH SIA"
68:
Cabin crew supervisor at the SIA (former; 1988–2000)
227:The prosecution, consisting of former CAD director
94:
86:
74:
59:
45:
38:
538:"Amended law: Ex-SIA man first to be charged".
493:"Some $ 22m missing in ex-SIA man's CBT case".
131:Teo Cheng Kiat was born in Singapore in 1953.
8:
583:"$ 35m SIA man pleads guilty to charges".
341:"In family's eyes, he was the model son".
178:apartments. He also purchased two cars, a
35:
333:
523:"Former SIA clerk in $ 30m CBT case".
231:and his colleague Jeanne Lee from the
418:"He knew SIA pay system inside out".
403:"He knew SIA pay system inside out".
7:
628:"Public Prosecutor v Teo Cheng Kiat"
599:"Public Prosecutor v Teo Cheng Kiat"
357:"Public Prosecutor v Teo Cheng Kiat"
65:Clerk at the SIA (former; 1975–1988)
568:"Recovering the missing SIA loot".
830:Singaporean white-collar criminals
478:"SIA man allegedly took $ 15.9m".
14:
307:List of major crimes in Singapore
282:imprisonment on 16 October 2001.
656:"Greed, greed and more greed".
1:
508:"SIA man in $ 16m CBT case".
205:Commercial Affairs Department
233:Attorney-General's Chambers
215:Guilty plea and submissions
49:1953 (age 70–71)
846:
18:
672:"Embezzler's wife jailed"
102:
82:
825:2000 crimes in Singapore
433:"Home like 'boutique'".
277:Significance of the case
182:car for $ 180,000 and a
737:"SIA sues for $ 24 m".
221:High Court of Singapore
190:Arrest and imprisonment
757:National Library Board
295:Asia Pacific Breweries
137:Singapore Armed Forces
219:In his trial at the
168:United Overseas Bank
696:. 12 November 2000.
635:Singapore Law Watch
606:Singapore Law Watch
557:. 18 February 2000.
497:. 18 February 2000.
467:. 12 February 2000.
364:Singapore Law Watch
345:. 12 November 2000.
78:Released since 2024
678:. 17 October 2001.
553:"$ 22m missing".
527:. 5 February 2000.
512:. 29 January 2000.
482:. 8 February 2000.
452:. 24 October 2000.
392:. 15 January 2015.
284:Singapore Airlines
201:Singapore Airlines
160:Singapore Airlines
148:Singapore Airlines
113:Singapore Airlines
820:Commercial crimes
782:The Straits Times
694:The Straits Times
658:The Straits Times
585:The Straits Times
570:The Straits Times
555:The Straits Times
540:The Straits Times
525:The Straits Times
495:The Straits Times
480:The Straits Times
465:The Straits Times
435:The Straits Times
420:The Straits Times
405:The Straits Times
390:The Straits Times
343:The Straits Times
146:Teo first joined
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726:. 11 July 2000.
724:Xin Ming Ri Bao
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711:. 11 July 2000.
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437:. 15 July 2000.
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87:Criminal charge
75:Criminal status
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741:. 9 July 2000.
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422:. 1 July 2000.
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322:Chia Teck Leng
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253:Tay Yong Kwang
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121:Chia Teck Leng
109:Teo Cheng Kiat
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815:Living people
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784:. 16 May 2016
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739:The New Paper
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709:Lianhe Wanbao
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637:. 6 July 2000
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510:The New Paper
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450:The New Paper
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366:. 6 July 2000
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448:"SIA case".
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141:GCE O-levels
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21:Chinese name
810:1953 births
312:Nick Leeson
60:Occupations
25:family name
804:Categories
788:27 January
762:27 January
641:27 January
612:27 January
370:27 January
328:References
195:Indictment
127:Early life
53:Singapore
301:See also
247:Sentence
19:In this
95:Penalty
23:, the
676:Today
631:(PDF)
602:(PDF)
360:(PDF)
790:2022
764:2022
643:2022
614:2022
372:2022
46:Born
184:BMW
30:Teo
27:is
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