convicted and sentenced<\/a> to 15 months and six weeks\u2019 jail on Aug. 28, 2024.
<\/p>\nHis appeal has since been dismissed.
<\/p>\n
He had appealed against both his conviction and sentence for knowingly producing a Philippine passport that was a false or misleading document, as well as the sentence for making false statements in his disembarkation forms upon arriving in Singapore to obtain a visit pass.
<\/p>\n
In a written judgment dated Mar. 3, 2026, the appeal judge set out his reasons for dismissing the appeal, saying the man had taken the court on a \u201cflight of fantasy\u201d with his lies and inconsistent testimony.
<\/p>\n
Entered Singapore using a Philippine passport<\/h2>\n
Goh Chin Soon, a Singapore citizen, was found to have knowingly produced a misleading passport on 45 occasions to enter and exit Singapore.
<\/p>\n
On the 46th occasion, when he attempted to leave Singapore using the same passport, he was arrested.
<\/p>\n
He was also found to have submitted false statements in his disembarkation forms on 23 occasions when entering Singapore.
<\/p>\n
Goh claimed he obtained the passport out of \u201cnecessity\u201d, alleging that \u201ccorrupt\u201d Chinese officials were after his land and properties, and that Chinese authorities had seized his passport and failed to return it.
<\/p>\n
The passport bore Goh\u2019s photograph but carried the particulars of a Filipino man, \u201cBoris Jacinto Ngo\u201d, born in 1967. Goh was born in 1955.
<\/p>\n
Was bankrupt and needed permission to travel<\/h2>\n
Although Goh raised several arguments in his defence \u2014 including claiming that the passport was an \u201cinvestment passport\u201d \u2014 the trial judge found that he had \u201cmasqueraded as Ngo Boris Jacinto out of sheer convenience and disregard for the law\u201d.
<\/p>\n
Court records showed that Goh had applied for a Singapore passport at the Singapore Consulate-General in Xiamen on Apr. 28, 2010, but was not issued one due to unresolved bankruptcy matters.
<\/p>\n
He was an undischarged bankrupt from May 2001 to June 2015 and required permission to travel during that period.
<\/p>\n
The trial judge noted that the passport enabled Goh to enter and leave Singapore without seeking the required permission from the Official Assignee, the court officer who administers the affairs of bankrupt individuals.
<\/p>\n
After considering deterrence as a key sentencing principle, along with several aggravating factors, the judge imposed a global sentence of 15 months and six weeks\u2019 imprisonment.
<\/p>\n
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