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SINGAPORE – A director of three companies that illegally supplied nearly $ 580,000 worth of luxury goods to North Korea was sentenced on Monday (October 12) to three weeks in jail.
The items included perfumes, cosmetics and watches coated with a precious metal, as described in court documents.
Chong Hock Yen was the sole decision-maker and director of three local companies: SCN Singapore, Sindok Trading, which is now known as BSS Global, and Laurich International, which has been renamed Gunnar Singapore.
Records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority show that he is still a director of SCN, BSS Global and Gunnar Singapore.
The 60-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty last month to eight counts of conspiracy to supply nearly $ 270,000 worth of luxury goods to North Korea.
During sentencing, 35 other similar charges were considered for the remaining articles.
All three companies also admitted to similar crimes last month.
SCN pleaded guilty to six counts of luxury goods worth more than $ 220,000, while Sindok and Laurich each admitted one count.
Sindok’s charge involved luxury goods worth more than US $ 10,000 ($ 13,600) and Laurich’s case was for goods worth US $ 12,000.
On Monday, SCN was fined $ 120,000, while Sindok and Laurich were fined $ 10,000 each.
The court heard that due to United Nations sanctions, it is illegal for anyone in Singapore to supply, sell or transfer designated luxury goods to North Korean entities.
The court heard that the companies supplied luxury goods to four entities in North Korea from December 2010 to November 2016: Bugsae Shop, Korea Jangsaeng Trading Corporation (Pyongyang), MG Corporation, and New Hope Joint Venture Corporation (Pyongyang).
SCN had supplied most of the products to Bugsae Shop, which is owned by North Korean Li Ik.
His son, Li Hyon, had studied in Singapore before helping his father with the luxury goods business here.
Products were shipped to North Korea in three different ways: by air and sea through China, and by hand through check-in at the airport.
Chong knew that these transactions violated the law.
On September 25, 2017, the Singapore Department of Commercial Affairs received information that SCN had “significant sales to more than one entity” in North Korea.
Li Hyon was jailed for four weeks earlier this year after pleading guilty to four counts of conspiring with other individuals and two companies, including SCN, to deliver luxury items such as cosmetics and spirits to North Korea.
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