Commercial Affairs Department
By Mr Ricky Lim Heng Meng

Keeping the Commercial Sector Healthy
The challenges in FY 2007 tested the Commercial Affairs Department to its limits. Even though we faced resource constraints, our officers confronted these challenges squarely with professionalism and teamwork, and achieved excellent results.

The Long Arm of the Law

The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) was tested on all fronts of commercial crime investigation and performed admirably. What is becoming more apparent is the international nature of many of these investigations. One of the prominent cases concerned Richard Yong Kun Da, the former Chairman of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), who absconded from Singapore to avoid paying almost $900,000 to the organisation in liquidated damages and costs.

Our officers worked with international counterparts and traced him to Hong Kong. Within a month of tracking him down, we had him extradited to Singapore and charged for offences under the Penal Code and Bankruptcy Act. Working closely with our overseas partners, we responded quickly and effectively to close the case.

Effective and Efficient Operations

On 1 November 2007, Singapore implemented the regime for Reporting of Cross Border Movements of Physical Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments (CBNI). Under this regime, anyone carrying CBNI exceeding $30,000 or its equivalent into or out of Singapore would be required by law to make a report of such movements to the authorities.

This regime enhanced Singapore’s overall efforts to combat transnational crime, money laundering and terrorism financing. Its successful implementation can be attributed to the cooperation and commitment of the government agencies and the relevant industry stakeholders involved. Their support enabled us to implement the reporting regime successfully within a short period of time.

CAD Gallery

Commissioner of Police, Mr Khoo Boon Hui, officially opened the CAD Gallery on 14 March 2008. The Gallery, which features the origins and milestones of CAD over the past three decades, invokes a strong sense of identity in all CAD officers.

Partners in Crime-Fighting

CAD’s proactive engagement with the public and our strategic partners remains our key strategy in combating commercial crime. The strong working relationships among these three parties deterred potential criminals and also prevented more people from falling prey to crimes like the notorious ‘phone scams’ in 2007.

Rising to New Challenges in FY 2008

With the increasing complexity of commercial crimes, CAD will keep abreast of these advancements to ensure that the perpetrators do not succeed.

Looking forward, our priorities lie in strengthening our working relationships with our foreign counterparts and intensifying our engagement with the community and strategic partners in crime prevention. We must be swift and effective enforcers of the law and a strong deterrent to those inclined to break it.