He was previously charged with one count of abetment of forgery for the purpose of cheating, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.
Lim Oon Kiun, the embattled founder of Hin Leong Trading, has been slapped with a second charge of abetment of forgery for the purpose of cheating, following investigations into the firm by the Commercial Affairs Department, the white-collar crime unit of the Singapore police, «The Straits Times» reported on Friday.
The 78-year-old was not allowed into court because of a respiratory problem. The was charge read out to him in mandarin outside the court, and his bail of $3 million extended, the report said.
Lim allegedly «instigated» Hin Leong contracts executive Freddy Tan to forge an e-mail, which was intended to be used for the purpose of cheating, charge sheets said. More charges could be added as investigations are ongoing, Deputy Public Prosecutor Navin Naidu told the court.
PwC Suit
Some 23 banks reportedly lent a total of $3.85 billion to the troubled oil trader, with HSBC reportedly believed to have the largest exposure at $600 million.
Earlier this month, the firm's judicial manager PwC took action against Lim, his son Evan Lim Chee Meng and his daughter Lim Huey Ching, who are both executive directors at the company, accusing them of fraudulent trading and breaching their fiduciary duties as directors.
According to the suit, the outstanding amount of $3.5 billion are Hin Leong's debts, which the Lim family are personally responsible for, without limitation of liability
