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SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man has admitted supplying tens of thousands of dollars worth of perfume, cosmetics and luxury watches to North Korea in violation of United Nations sanctions.
Chong Hock Yen, a 60-year-old director of three Singapore-based companies, pleaded guilty on Thursday (September 17) to participating in a conspiracy to supply nearly S $ 272,000 worth of luxury goods to the isolated country.
For nearly six years, the companies supplied items including perfumes, cosmetics, watches and musical instruments to North Korean companies under Chong’s instructions, according to court documents.
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One of his accomplices, Li Hyon, a North Korean who helped his father source goods in Singapore for his department store chain in North Korea, was jailed for four weeks earlier this year for his role.
The United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions on North Korea in response to its nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
Singapore suspended trade ties with North Korea in 2017, although there have been several cases in recent years where companies and individuals from the city-state have been accused of supplying banned products to the country.
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In November, the Singapore director of a trading company was jailed for nearly three years for supplying S $ 5.98 million worth of items, including wine, spirits and perfumes, to the North.
Another Singapore company was accused last year of supplying wine and spirits worth about S $ 665,000 north through the Chinese city of Dalian.
In June, a UN rights expert said that North Korea’s food insecurity was worsening and that some people were “starving” after the country closed its border with China and took other measures against COVID-19. 19.
