SINGAPORE – A former wealth planning manager with DBS Bank who cheated four of his clients of $348,000 in total was sentenced to 2½ years’ jail on March 18.
Pang Yuheng, 28, had duped the victims into investing in fictitious fixed deposits with “attractive terms”.
The Singaporean pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating involving $324,000 in February.
Three more charges, including one count of cheating linked to the remaining $24,000, were considered during his sentencing.
Pang’s employment was terminated in June 2023. While he was working for the bank, his responsibilities included selling insurance-related investment products to its customers.
In March 2022, he hatched a plan to offer fictitious fixed deposits with high interest rates to his clients.
Pang did so as he had significant debts to licensed moneylenders after suffering losses in online gambling.
From March 7, 2022, to March 1, 2023, he deceived four of DBS’ customers into transferring $348,000 to his personal bank accounts.
In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor David Koh told the court: “The accused would contact his customers over the phone or meet them in person to offer a purported fixed deposit.
“The purported terms of this fixed deposit included an interest rate from 4 per cent to 12.88 per cent a year, with a maturity period ranging from two months to 12 months.”
There were also occasions when Pang would instruct the customers to transfer funds to his bank accounts when they agreed to the purported fixed deposit.
He used a portion of his ill-gotten gains to fund his illegal online gambling activities and to invest in an asset management company.
In a bid to cover his tracks, he used some of the money and his gambling winnings to make payments totalling more than $104,000 to two of the victims.
He had cheated the pair of $98,000 in total.
DPP Koh said that DBS had made compensation totalling $259,000 to the other two victims, whom Pang had cheated of $250,000.
Pang repaid $70,000 to DBS, causing the bank to suffer a loss of $189,000.
In June 2023, the police received a report from the bank about his offences. He was charged in court in 2024.
Defence lawyers Andrew Wong and Danny Nah had pleaded for their client to be given up to two years and two months’ jail.
They also said that upon his release from prison, Pang will be making monthly payments of $1,000 to the bank.
The lawyers from IRB Law said: “Our client in a moment of weakness succumbed to the vice of gambling which led to the eventual commission of these offences.
“Our client and his family are deeply ashamed of this matter and wish for this episode to be put behind them,”
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
- Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
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