Two bunker clerks get jail for stealing marine fuel worth S$237,000

SINGAPORE: Two bunker clerks were each sentenced to a year and nine months' jail on Monday (Apr 18) for stealing about S$237,000 worth of marine fuel from the vessel on which they worked.

Chan Thiam Wee, 41, and Melvin Low Boon Hwee, 42, were employed by Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services (EMF) to work on MT Libra, a Singapore-registered vessel.

They admitted to stealing about 313 tonnes of marine fuel from EMF in 2020 and selling it to a vessel that bought stolen fuel, the Mongolia-registered MT Zuiun, at below market prices.

As bunker clerks, both men were responsible for overseeing the vessel's bunkering operations. They received instructions on loading and delivery schedules from their manager, co-accused Chia Eng Choon.

The three men were the masterminds of the scheme, which also involved the crew of MT Libra and MT Zuiun, said the prosecution. Chia was earlier sentenced to a year, seven months and two weeks' jail.

Chan and Low each pleaded guilty to three charges of conspiring to commit criminal breach of trust, with two more charges of the same considered for sentencing.

CHEATING THE MASS FLOW METER

MT Libra was chartered by EMF to collect, transport and deliver marine fuel to its customers. Its crew were not allowed to sell any fuel without the company's authorisation.

The court heard that in August 2019, Low told Chan that they could reserve an amount of marine fuel from each delivery by using a special method that involved introducing air into the master pipeline.

Using this method, the mass flow meter mandated by the Maritime Port Authority (MPA) would continue recording outflow even when no fuel was being delivered.

The result was that the actual amount of marine fuel delivered would be less than the amount reflected on the mass flow meter. The reserved portion of fuel would remain in the vessel's tank.

Chan and Low tried this method out a few times in actual operations and found that they could reserve about 2 to 3 tonnes of marine fuel in each delivery.

In December 2019, Chan, Low and Chia discussed selling the reserved marine fuel at below market prices without EMF's knowledge.

EMF would not know about any sale of stolen marine fuel as Chan and Low, MT Libra's only bunker clerks, would not report the reserved portion to the company.

They agreed for Chan and Low to receive S$100 and Chia to receive S$50 per tonne of stolen marine fuel sold, with remaining profits to be split among the MT Libra crew.

SELLING THE STOLEN FUEL

Around this time, Chan came to know of a shipping agent, Chong Wee Kong, who bought stolen marine fuel from vessels in Singapore.

Chong and another person, William Soh Lian, were the shipping agents handling the entry and exit of MT Zuiun in Singapore. The vessel was owned by a Panama-incorporated company.

Every member of MT Zuiun's crew knew that the main purpose of the vessel entering Singapore was to illegally collect stolen marine fuel from other vessels and leave with the stolen cargo, stated court documents.

Chong agreed to Chan's offer to sell him marine fuel below market price, and provided a point of contact for the illegal transfers at sea.

Chan then informed Low and Chia of the arrangement, and both agreed with it. Other crew members of MT Libra, including the captain and boatswain, were also informed of the plan.

The crew of both vessels carried out these illegal fuel transfers at sea on at least five occasions in January, February and March 2020.

Crew members would keep a lookout for authorities during the illegal transfers, which were conducted not through the usual pipe for legitimate transfers, but directly into MT Zuiun's cargo tank.

During the last such transfer on Mar 8, 2020, the crew of MT Libra agreed to sell the stolen fuel to MT Zuiun at S$340 per tonne.

The scheme was discovered during this transfer, when an MPA officer boarded MT Libra after spotting it alongside MT Zuiun while on patrol.

The MPA officer had seen MT Libra's bunker delivery hose connected to the tank of MT Zuiun, with its cargo tank operational. The two vessels were next to each other in waters off Eastern Petroleum Bravo Anchorage at the time.

MASTERMINDS

Deputy Public Prosecutors Emily Koh and Nicholas Lim sought the sentence imposed, highlighting Chan and Low's abuse of the high degree of trust placed in them in their key roles as bunker clerks.

The prosecutors said that there was an ongoing conspiracy to steal marine fuel, which took place over two months before the syndicate was caught red-handed.

The losses suffered by EMF were significant, and the illegal scheme was syndicated and involved many levels of hierarchy from management to operations, which should be deterred, they said.

The prosecutors also said that Chan, Low and Chia had the highest culpability of all co-accused in the syndicate, as they concocted the scheme and took the lion's share of profits.

Additionally, Chan and Low's roles were more involved than Chia's as they were physically on board MT Libra to direct and coordinate the illegal operations, and had roped Chia in after coming up with the scheme, said the prosecutors.

Three crew members of MT Libra were earlier sentenced to a year and five months' jail. The crew of MT Zuiun have also been dealt with, according to the prosecution.