SINGAPORE: A woman accused of carrying out a multimillion-dollar luxury goods scam with her husband pleaded guilty on Monday (Oct 21) as the prosecution sought a jail term of 14 to 15 years.
Thai national Pansuk Siriwipa, 29, was described as the mastermind of the scheme.
She collected payment for orders to fulfil earlier orders, even as her companies, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, suffered losses of around S$9 million (US$6.85 million).
She and her husband Pi Jiapeng, a 29-year-old Singaporean then lived the high life, spending extravagantly on luxury goods for themselves.
The couple made headlines after they went missing amid police investigations, having fled Singapore by hiding in the container compartment of a lorry while crossing Tuas Checkpoint.
They were arrested in Malaysia on Aug 11, 2022, and handed to Singapore police.
HOW THE COMPANIES CONDUCTED BUSINESS
The court heard that the couple set up Tradenation on May 28, 2021, to sell luxury watches in Singapore. On Jan 25 2022, the couple incorporated Tradeluxury to sell luxury bags.
Pansuk was the main decision-maker for both companies and was responsible for communicating with customers, sourcing for suppliers and arranging for the delivery of goods.
The companies operated by re-selling luxury watches and bags on a pre-order basis. When customers placed orders, they had to make full payment before the companies procured and delivered the goods.
Pi and Pansuk sourced their goods from overseas, and their pre-order prices would generally be 10 per cent to 20 per cent lower than prices offered by local resellers.
Both companies also let customers consign previously purchased items back to the companies for resale, or to consign their own luxury items to the companies for sale.
By end-2021 or early 2022, Tradenation began encountering difficulties from overseas suppliers due to shipment delays. It switched to local suppliers at a higher cost. Tradeluxury encountered similar challenges when it started operations in January 2022.
As a result, both began making losses. By February 2022, Pansuk knew that the companies might not be able to fulfil their orders as they did not have enough funds.
Deputy Public Prosecutor David Koh told the court that the companies were in “dire financial straits” by the end of February 2022, with net liabilities of more than S$1.78 million.
However, Pansuk continued her business as usual, using new payments to buy goods to fulfil earlier orders. She knew that most of these orders would incur losses as she was buying from local sellers and selling to customers at a price lower than the cost.
By the end of March 2022, the companies were in a deficit of nearly S$9 million.
But Pansuk continued taking pre-orders until June 2022, cheating 166 victims of more than S$12 million.
SPENDING ON LAVISH LIFESTYLE
Despite operating losses, the couple lived a lavish lifestyle funded with money from their businesses.
Pi received a salary of S$40,000 a month from Tradenation between December 2021 and May 2022, and a salary of S$12,000 a month from Tradeluxury between March 2022 and May 2022.
Pansuk received a salary of S$10,000 a month from Tradenation from January to June 2022
She spent about S$2 million on a Bangkok property for her mother between March and April 2022.
She also spent S$58,000 on a private jet flight to Bangkok for a holiday and made S$140,000 in downpayment for the purchase of a Chevrolet Corvette in Pi’s name in April 2022. Pi already had three cars – a Toyota Alphard, a McLaren Couple and a Porsche Macan.
Other examples of their spending include S$120,000 on renovating a unit and installing furniture for a physical retail store for Tradenation.
Between May 2022 and August 2022, 187 police reports were filed against the two companies, stating that they failed to fulfil orders despite payments made.
Pi was arrested on Jun 27, 2022. He was released on bail and his passport was surrendered to the police. Pansuk had also surrendered her passport.
On Jul 4, 2022, a lorry driver helped them escape by hiding them in his vehicle.
SENTENCING ADJOURNED
Pansuk pleaded guilty to 30 charges, comprising one of criminal breach of trust, two of fraudulent trading, two of transferring benefits from criminal conduct, and 25 of cheating. The remaining 150 charges – mostly of cheating – will be taken into consideration for sentencing.
“By her actions, the accused has caused staggering losses of S$12 million in the cheating charges alone. When the fraudulent trading charges are considered that amount is more than S$25 million across both companies – one of the largest scams perpetrated against multiple victims in recent memory,” the prosecution said.
“At the same time, she continued to live large and spent the customers’ funds on luxurious items – not the ones promised to her customers, but for herself.”
Pansuk’s lawyer Johannes Hadi argued for a jail term of about 12 years and eight months to 13 years and seven months.
Mr Hadi sought the 30 per cent sentencing discount for her plea of guilt, stating that Pansuk had not delayed indicating her intention to plead guilty.
“Pansuk is also remorseful for her actions. She eventually informed the individual who had assisted her in escaping that she would surrender, (and asked) that he contact the Royal Thai police,” he added.
“Pansuk then waited outside a hotel in Malaysia for the police to arrive and place her under arrest.”
Pansuk’s sentencing has been adjourned to Oct 29.
