Two men have been sentenced to jail for illegally exporting more than $1 million worth of alcoholic beverages and Pokka drinks to North Korea for almost two years. The men, who were joint directors of 123 Holdings and 123 Duty Free, used Dalian, China to carry out the illegal trade.
Wang Jung Chung, aged 41, was sentenced to eight weeks in jail, while See Swee Hian, aged 61, was jailed for four weeks. They both pleaded guilty to breaching United Nations sanctions and exporting prohibited goods to North Korea.
Their companies were also fined on two counts of breaching UN sanctions and exporting prohibited goods. Investigations showed that See met a North Korean official at a trade fair in North Korea in 2015, who later visited Singapore and introduced See to Wang.
Wang was told to set up a company called Silver Moon Holdings in Singapore, which would purchase beverages from 123 Holdings and export them to North Korea via Dalian. Wang and See knew the trade was illegal, but continued to supply the drinks.
Both men were aware of the trade prohibitions, but continued to supply drinks to a North Korean named Hyon as they were concerned about their storage costs, expiry dates and cash flow.
Wang has deferred his sentence to May 15 as he is currently working for another drink distributor and will be attending a trade fair at Marina Bay Sands as part of his work.
Have a story? Send to us here sgtelltale@outlook.com
Comments