SINGAPORE – A former Shell employee who played a leadership role in a long-running scheme to misappropriate fuel from the oil giant’s Pulau Bukom facility was sentenced to 21 years’ jail on March 30.
Richard Goh Chee Keong, 56, a Malaysian, pleaded guilty to 24 charges in relation to his involvement in a conspiracy to siphon $100 million worth of marine gas oil between August 2014 and January 2018.
Another 26 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
The 50 charges he faced comprised 39 for criminal breach of trust, six for money laundering, four for corruption, and one for drug consumption.
Goh admitted receiving at least $1.5 million in criminal benefits, spending the money on property, at least two cars and investments, as well as saving a portion.
He has consented to the forfeiture of assets seized from him, worth $1.07 million, as compensation to Shell.
High Court judge Dedar Singh Gill granted a request by Goh to defer his sentence, and ordered him to surrender at the State Courts on April 20.
Eleven other former Shell employees have been sentenced to jail terms ranging from one year and four months to 29 years for their roles.
Goh started working at the Pulau Bukom facility in 1993 as a technician. At the time of the offences, he was an assistant production team leader and a shore loading officer.
He was recruited by Abdul Latif Ibrahim, 68, one of the two original masterminds who had conceived the overall scheme.
Goh recruited other team members and gave them directions, planned the loading of stolen oil onto vessels, and bribed independent surveyors to persuade them to turn a blind eye to the illegal activities.
Latif was sentenced in July 2025 to 25 years and two months’ jail after he admitted to leading a group of rogue employees to siphon $100 million worth of marine gas oil between August 2014 and January 2018.
