Nine men have been handed jail sentences in Singapore for their part in a scam to defraud shipowners of $336,930 worth of bunker fuel.
They range from two weeks to up to almost three years for the masterminds of the scam that used industrial strength magnets to tamper with mass flow meters (MFMs) on the bunker tankers Southernpec 6 and Southernpec 7.
The masterminds were named as Ang Heng Lye, Tay Tien Whui and Kek Kah Hui who each received sentences of between 34 and 36 months.
Six cargo officers, who were said to have carried out the tampering, received jail sentences of between two weeks and 19 months.
They are Ang Heng Chye, Heng Meng Wee, Leong Wai Chew, Chua Yew Hui, Chua Yan Jing and Kek Kah Hee.
The syndicate’s illegal operations were discovered during an enforcement check by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in April 2019.
Singapore’s maritime regulator subsequently revoked the bunker craft operator and bunker supplier license of Southernpec (Singapore) with effect from 8 May 2019 and 29 May 2019, respectively.
Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub, became the first port to mandate the use of MFMs in 2017 in an effort to boost transparency.
“To uphold the integrity of the bunker process in the Port of Singapore, MPA has mandated the use of MFMs for the delivery of MFO as it provides assurance to both buyers and suppliers on the delivered quantity of MFO and enhances transparency in the bunkering process,” the MPA said.
“The authorities take a serious view of such criminal activities and will not hesitate to take firm action against those who commit offences that undermine Singapore’s international reputation as a trusted shipping and bunkering hub.”
The matter was jointly investigated by the MPA and the Singapore Police Force.
In 2018, Southernpec was ranked as Singapore’s 30th-largest bunker supplier by volume out of a total of 51.
Singapore sold close to 50m tonnes of bunkers in 2020, according to the MPA.
