Ex-employee of SIA Engineering Company admits to cheating charges involving over $96,000

A former engineering supervisor at a company that provides maintenance services for Singapore Airlines' aircraft fleet has admitted to cheating offences involving more than $96,000.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

Leong Siew Pui was working for Singapore Airlines Engineering Company (SIAEC) when he committed the offences in 2017. He started working at the company in 1978 but is no longer employed there. Court documents did not disclose when he left the company.

The 68-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating on Jan 28.

Three other counts of cheating will be considered during his sentencing.

For two of the charges linked to nearly $39,000 in total, he duped SIAEC into believing that a company called Aittix Engineering had provided repair services, which were not done at all.

Leong has made full restitution involving this amount.

On his third cheating charge involving more than $57,000, SIAEC was deceived into paying for maintenance and repair services as it believed that Aittix had provided them.

In reality, Leong was the one who had provided such services. He had wanted to become an external contractor for SIAEC after his retirement.

Besides the restitution, he also surrendered to the police profits totalling more than $63,000.