Man gets 7 years’ corrective training for cheating
SINGAPORE — A former restaurant manager who misappropriated money from his employer and cheated victims of thousands of dollars by pretending to offer better exchange rates was today (Nov 12) sentenced to seven years’ corrective training.
Michael Sim Tee Tee, 55, was also convicted of a housebreaking offence in September 2011, where he stole S$929.90 from Mega Tian Siang Hotpot at Sentosa. He had been jailed for eight years for a previous housebreaking conviction.
The court today heard that Sim failed to submit the daily sales proceeds report for Aug 26 to 31, 2011, while he was employed as a manager of Royal Tien Xiang Restaurant on Robertson Walk.
After being arrested and charged, Sim jumped bail and was only arrested again on May 31 this year. While he was on the run, Sim cheated others by pretending that he was able to exchange Singapore dollars for various foreign currencies at better rates.
He duped one man of S$3,000 this way. After collecting the money in March last year, he failed to hand over the foreign currency. To assure the victim he would not run away, Sim gave him a photocopy of his identity card, but subsequently avoided the victim, said deputy public prosecutor Vincent Ong. Sim “never had the intention to convert the Singapore currency transferred to him ... and spent the money instead”, the prosecutor added.
On May 12, Sim repeated the scam on a Chinese tourist in Geylang, fleecing him of S$4,000. DPP Ong said Sim used the money to clear his debts and pay for his daily expenses.
In all, Sim stole about S$21,000 for two counts of cheating, and one count each of criminal breach of trust, housebreaking and theft by night. Another four cheating charges were taken into consideration. No restitution has been made to date.
For criminal breach of trust, Sim could have been jailed for 15 years and fined while for housebreaking and theft by night, he could have been jailed for 14 years and caned. For cheating, he could have been jailed for 10 years and fined.
