SINGAPORE: A man who was the mastermind of a scheme to evade duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) on imported beer has been fined S$560,000 (US$442,000), Singapore Customs said on Friday (Sep 4).Han Xiaoyang, a 47-year-old Chinese national, pleaded guilty on Friday to seven charges of fraudulent evasion of duty. The charges involved the evasion of about S$60,127 in duty on 28,236 bottles of duty-unpaid beer, Customs said in a media release.As Han did not pay the fine, he will serve 164 days in jail in default, Customs said.The court also took into consideration 15 other charges during sentencing, comprising four charges of fraudulent evasion of duty and 11 charges of fraudulently evading GST.Han's accomplice, 29-year-old Chinese national Tong Baobao, was sentenced on May 4 for his involvement in the scheme. Tong was employed by Han as the general manager of Wan Changya International (WCI).He pleaded guilty to three charges of fraudulently evading duty and was fined S$322,000. The charges involved approximately S$39,517 in evaded duty. Seven other charges were taken into consideration during Tong's sentencing.Tong did not pay the fine and served 80 days' imprisonment in default.
Cartons of duty-unpaid beer seized in connection with the case. (Photo: Singapore Customs)
