Singapore hands final offender in money laundering scandal longest jail sentence

Su Jianfeng, 36, was convicted on Thursday last week after he pleaded guilty to one charge each of possessing almost S$551,000 in criminal proceeds from running an illegal remote gambling service and fraudulently using a forged property sale contract to explain the source of deposits into his bank account.

Another 12 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The prosecution had sought a jail term of between 17 and 18 months, while the defence had asked for a lower sentence of 14 1/2 months.

Delivering his brief remarks on his decision on Monday, District Judge James Elisha Lee outlined the general need for deterrence for such transnational crimes to protect Singapore’s reputation as a financial hub.

He also noted the higher amount involved across Su’s charges – compared to those already convicted – and other aggravating factors like premeditation and the multiple banks that became victims to Su’s crimes.