The founder of collapsed oil trading firm Hin Leong Trading Lim Oon Kuin went on trial on Tuesday (Apr 11) for charges of cheating a bank and instigating forgery involving US$111.7 million (S$148.7 million).
The 81-year-old former oil tycoon attended the hearing in a wheelchair, with his lawyer, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, informing the court that his client is unable to stand.
Lim pleaded not guilty through a Mandarin interpreter.
For the trial, the prosecution proceeded on three charges out of the more than 100 that he is facing: Two counts of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of instigating a contracts executive of Hin Leong Trading to forge a false record.
The amount involved in the proceeded charges for trial is about US$111.7 million, even though the amount across all charges is many times of that.
The courtroom was packed to the brim with lawyers and press from international outlets.
The prosecution, a five-member team led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Christopher Ong, laid out the background of the case in their opening statement.
At the time of the alleged offences, Lim was the managing director and 75 per cent shareholder of Hin Leong Trading, an oil trading company incorporated in Singapore.
The prosecution’s case is that Lim cheated HSBC through his employees, by making it seem like Hin Leong had entered into two contracts for the sale of oil with China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation and Unipec Singapore.
Based on those purported transactions, two invoice financing applications were submitted, but the transactions were “complete fabrications, concocted on the accused’s directions”, said Mr Ong.
As a result of the alleged deception, HSBC disbursed US$111.7 million to Hin Leong.
Around Apr 8, 2020, Hin Leong informed HSBC that it was facing liquidity issues and would be requesting a standstill agreement with its lenders.
Source: CNA
