Fullerton Health co-founders fined for submitting and approving false and inflated expense claims

In that instance, Dr Chan had actually incurred 200,000 yuan – equivalent to about S$42,512 at the time – of expenses.

The prosecution had asked for a S$140,000 to S$150,000 fine for Dr Chan and a S$30,000 fine for Dr Tan. The defence argued for a fine of up to S$120,000 for Dr Chan and a S$5,000 fine for Dr Tan.

In delivering their sentences, the judge highlighted that Dr Chan submitted his falsified claims knowing that his colleagues – Dr Tan and the company’s former director David Sin – would approve them.

While he agreed that their offences did not cross the threshold for a prison sentence, he noted that the three men could approve business expense claims without their finance team’s approval. 

The group “effectively checked itself” and as a result, their nefarious activities were hard to detect, he added.

In Dr Chan’s case, the judge rejected his lawyers’ claim that he only acted on others’ instructions. Dr Tan and Mr Sin could not have approved Dr Chan’s claims if he had not submitted them, he added.

He also highlighted that Dr Chan had admitted to his role in asking for the falsified receipts to make the claims, and that the doctor would have been able to appreciate the implication of using false receipts or submitting such claims.

As for Dr Tan, the judge noted his lawyers’ attempt to characterise his involvement as a one-off decision where he acted out of character and a failure to discharge his executive responsibility.

But the judge agreed with the prosecution that Dr Tan still played a critical role by approving the false claim, knowing that it was inflated to provide financial assistance to Aon Singapore’s former CEO Collin Chiew.

According to court documents, the money from the falsified expense claims was intended for Chiew. He allegedly asked Dr Chan for financial assistance because he needed money for his children and house, and Dr Chan told Dr Tan about the request.

Dr Chan then collected inflated or falsified receipts from the country managing director of Fullerton Health China, and submitted them as claims after his multiple business trips overseas. A number of these claims were used to get money from the company to provide the funds Chiew had asked for, court documents said.

They had also supposedly agreed to pay Chiew for “consultancy services” provided to Fullerton Healthcare Corporation.

The two doctors are the remaining Fullerton Health Corporation employees dealt with in this case. Chiew, who is expected to stand trial on Jul 15, remains accused of taking bribes and money laundering.