The CPF prosecutor told the court that to date, no payments have been received.
The judge confirmed with Mr Shahrul that he was aware that both previous adjournments he was given were marked as “final”, and he agreed.
The prosecutor said Jollibean was previously fined S$1,200 in November 1998 for a similar offence.
She said the minimum fine is S$2,000 per charge, and the maximum S$10,000. She left the sentence to the court.
Mr Shahrul asked if it was possible for the previous conviction not to be taken against them, saying “this company was only taken over by us two years ago so we are not aware at all”.
However, the prosecution said previous convictions are accounted for by law.
In mitigation, Mr Shahrul appealed to the court to be lenient, saying the company is going through financial difficulties.
“Our number one priority is to settle the CPF and settle outstanding staff salary with all our previous employees,” he said.
“Imposing a S$68,000 fine on us won’t help. We have to juggle between (paying) the court and (paying) the staff, so I hope the court will be lenient in sentencing.”
On top of the fine, the judge issued a certificate of liability for the S$212,295 in CPF arrears owed.
Mr Shahrul said he could not make payment on Wednesday and asked for a month’s time.
The judge ordered the full sum of S$68,000 to be paid by Oct 22.
