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SINGAPORE: The man who brokered the kidney-for-sale deal, Wang Chin Sing, was on Friday sentenced to 14 months' jail. He is out on a S$60,000 bail, pending an appeal. He is the fourth person to be sentenced in this case.
Wang, 44, had introduced Indonesian kidney donor Sulaiman Damanik to local retail magnate Tang Wee Sung. Wang also coached them to lie to the Commissioner of Oaths about the illegal kidney donation.
Wang had also introduced another Indonesian donor, Toni, to an Indonesian woman, Juliana Soh, for a successful illegal kidney transplant here. These were among the five of 10 charges Wang pleaded guilty to. The remaining five charges were taken into consideration during the sentencing.
Tang was on Wednesday jailed for a day and fined S$17,000. Sulaiman was jailed for three weeks, while Toni served three-and-a-half months and was fined S$2,000 in July.
Reading out his judgement in court on Friday, District Judge Ng Peng Hong said Wang was clearly not a mere medical concierge, but a middleman who actively brokered the illegal deals. The judge added that the case smacks of being a syndicated operation.
Judge Ng said Wang was clearly the prime mover in the illicit organ trading.
"He negotiated the price for the purchase and supply of the kidney. He sourced for the kidney. He orchestrated the entire course of action that needed to be taken... for the transplant operation to be carried through," said Judge Ng.
He added that condoning Wang's conduct could lead Singapore into becoming a hub for illegal organ trading.
Lawyer Shashi Nathan, in Wang's defence, had suggested a total of 12 weeks in jail, saying his client did not intend to exploit the poor and his actions were motivated by sympathy and compassion, and not greed.
But the prosecution called for a deterrent sentence, saying he had no qualms exploiting both the donor and recipient. They said Wang was one of the directing minds behind the scams, if not the directing mind.
Mr Nathan expressed disappointment in the sentence. "Disappointed in the sense that given the sentences that were meted out earlier to other people who were involved, I thought 14 months was a bit high," he said.
About five family members, including Wang's wife, were in court for his sentencing. Wang was expressionless when the sentence was passed.
Mr Nathan said: "He's obviously disappointed and I think he's a bit numb. He came in today, prepared to go to jail, of course, and he's hoping that he could start his sentence today."
But after the sentence was passed, Wang decided to file an appeal, which is expected to be heard in the High Court in about two months.
A fifth and last person involved in this case, Whang Sung Lin, has been charged with introducing Wang to Tang. His trial is being arranged.
- CNA/ir
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