Man who got into debt from visits to 'diao hua' clubs forged mother's signature to sell her Rolls Royce and Mini Cooper
He received $150,000 from the car dealer after he asked a Taiwan-based friend to pretend to be his mother and authorise the sale of her cars.
SINGAPORE â A 33-year-old man was found guilty of forging his motherâs signature and selling her cars - a Rolls Royce Dawn 6.6 V12 and a Mini Cooper SE - to pay off the debts he had racked up from his frequent visits to 'diao hua' clubs.
Liu Kuei Liang, also known as Kent, was sentenced on 22 March to 12 weeksâ jail over two charges of forging sales and purchase agreements.
According to a judgement made available on Wednesday (27 March), Liu regularly visited clubs and would frequently 'diao hua', or buy flower garlands, for female singers as tips for them.
By August 2022, he had gotten himself into a substantial amount of debt, local media CNA reported. This was when the idea of selling his motherâs cars came to him.
Liu asked a friend to pretend to be his mother over the phone
Liu contacted Low Lye Seng, a representative from car dealer Autoart Singapore, on 1 August 2022.
After agreeing upon the price of $700,000 and $130,000 for the Rolls Royce and Mini Cooper respectively, Low sent over the sales and purchase agreements via WhatsApp.
Liu lied to Low that his mother was in Taiwan, even though she was in Singapore. He then proceeded to forge his motherâs signatures on the agreements and sent it back to Low via WhatsApp.
When another Autoart representative asked to speak to Liuâs mother to confirm the sale of the cars, Liu provided the number of his friend in Taiwan instead.
He got his friend, named as Lala by English daily The Straits Times, to pretend to be his mother and approve the sale of the cars. The Autoart representative was deceived into believing that the sale had been authorised by Liuâs mother.
With the âauthorisationâ, Low sent Liu a deposit of $100,000 for the Rolls Royce and $50,000 for the Mini Cooper via PayNow.
Liuâs mother lodged a police report on 16 August 2022 against Liu, as she believed he had forged her signatures and sold her cars behind without her consent.
In court, Deputy Public Prosecutor Vishnu Menon sought up to six monthsâ jail for Liu as the case involved large sums of money and Liu exerted much effort, even involving a friend based in Taiwan to âcement that lieâ.
DPP says fine 'inappropriate' for Liu as his mother could pay for it
According to CNA, defence lawyer Vijai Dharamadas Parwani of Parwani Law asked for a high fine instead, arguing that Liuâs mother had previously given her son permission to use the cars as needed.
He said that Liu was looking for âtemporary financingâ when he tried to sell the cars, and that it was a âmomentary lapse of judgementâ.
He added that the cars that the dealer had received had a value âfar in excess of the deposit paidâ, and that the cars had been returned to Liuâs mother after the initial deposit had been refunded by her. The Rolls Royce was later sold for $1 million, CNA reported.
The defence said that Liuâs mother âhas since reconciled with the accusedâ and had lodged the police report âin a moment of piqueâ, adding, âShe has forgiven the accused and would not be asking him for a refund of the deposit amount.â
However, DPP Menon said that the restitution had not been made by Liu himself, and a fine was inappropriate as Liuâs mother could pay for the fine.
He added that Liuâs motherâs forgiveness, or that she would need to take care of Liuâs young child if Liu got a jail sentence, should not be a mitigating factor.
Liu 'relied on mother to rescue him from his mistakes': Judge
According to CNA, District Judge Brenda Chua said that there were two victims in this case, the car dealer and Liuâs mother.
Even though the car dealer had their $150,000 deposit refunded, they suffered losses from the time value of the amount, any interest accrued and opportunity cost.
Liuâs mother had been taken advantage of by her son and had to pay back the $150,000 that he took, the Judge Chua said, noting that Liu himself had made no restitution or any amends on his own and had ârelied on the mother to rescue him from his mistakesâ.
âI agreed with the prosecution that whilst the accused pleaded guilty, restitution did not emanate from the accused,â the judge said in her ruling.
âAs the prosecution stated, [If] someone else pays for your crime, how can we say that âyou are remorsefulâ?â
Liu has appealed against the sentence and is out on bail pending appeal.
Liu could have been jailed for up to four years, fined, or both for each count of forgery.
Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.