Singapore, Aug 15 (PTI) An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to eight weeks in jail for helping a former deputy director of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) cheat the organisation of over SGD 450,000.
Pallaniappan Ravindran, 51, pleaded guilty to five counts of engaging in a conspiracy to cheat the association involving his friend and former FAS deputy director Rikram Jit Singh Randhir Singh.
Ten other similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing on Wednesday, reported The Straits Times.
Ravindran, who was the director of sports merchandise supplier Myriad Sports & Events, had helped Singh, 43, to dupe FAS by pretending that Myriad would supply items to the association.
A company linked to Singh and his wife, Asya Kirin Kames, however, were supplying the items and taking payments from FAS.
The trio’s conspiracy led to the association being cheated of a total of SGD457,605.
Singh, whom Deputy Public Prosecutor Thiagesh Sukumaran called the mastermind behind the crime, was sentenced to 55 weeks in jail in January this year.
Asya, 36, who was earlier handed 46 charges, was granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal in January — meaning she cannot be charged again with the same offences.
DPP Sukumaran told the court on August 14 that Singh and Ravindran were colleagues at another company from 2008 to 2009.
In 2016, Ravindran considered winding down Myriad as he had other work commitments and the firm was not generating revenue.
Singh advised him not to do so and asked Ravindran to provide quotations to supply sports merchandise to FAS.
Singh said he would take over the supply jobs FAS had given to Myriad. Ravindran could keep a small sum of FAS’ payment and then transfer the rest of the money to Singh.
When Ravindran asked why this arrangement was necessary, Singh admitted that it was a conflict of interest for him or any company associated with him to get contracts with FAS.
