Man who tricked town council into paying extra $233k for water pumps jailed

A man who billed Tampines Town Council for more expensive products instead of the actual items he provided, tricking it into paying an extra $233,000 for water pumps, was sentenced to three weeks' jail on May 13.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

Zhang Shuyan, 59, who was managing director of electrical and mechanical maintenance and installation firm FYH Integrated at the time of the offence, pleaded guilty in April to one count of falsifying accounts to the town council.

Before handing down the sentence on May 13, District Judge Kenneth Chin noted that the Singaporean had made full restitution and paid the bulk of it before he was charged.

However, the judge stressed that Zhang's case involved public funds and that he committed the offence over a sustained period of a year.