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SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man claiming to be in danger from “corrupt officials” in China obtained a Philippines passport for US$250,000 and used it to pass Singapore’s immigration checkpoints 46 times.
According to the passport, he was a Filipino man born in 1967 named Ngo Boris Jacinto. In reality, he was Singaporean Goh Chin Soon, born in 1955.
The prosecution charged that Goh, 69, had used the foreign passport to travel in and out of Singapore undetected 46 times in 2011 and 2012, in order to circumvent requirements imposed on him as an undischarged bankrupt.
Goh’s case first went to trial in 2016, but went through a lengthy process with a retrial ordered.
At the close of the retrial, he was convicted of 46 charges under the Immigration Act for producing a misleading document to immigration officers.
He was sentenced to 15 months and six weeks’ jail on Wednesday (Aug 28). This includes a jail term for another Immigration Act charge that he was previously convicted of.
Goh intends to appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Goh raised a defence of necessity to explain why he had to obtain a Philippines passport in early 2011 to travel out of China to avoid serious harm to himself.
He claimed to be a successful investor in Qingdao, China, and that he had fallen prey to “corrupt officials” who had their eyes on his land and properties.
To get his properties, the Chinese officials falsely maligned him for having ammunition, which resulted in his eventual arrest and detention, Goh claimed.
When he was arrested, Chinese authorities seized his passport and identity card and did not return these to him even after his release, he added.
His lawyer claimed that rumours were circulating at the time that Goh’s life was in danger as he had reported a high-ranking corrupt official in Qingdao.
As the official’s subordinates wanted to apprehend Goh, he had no choice but to flee to Xiamen. He claimed that he visited the Singapore embassy in Xiamen in September or October 2009, asking for help to get a new passport.
He said that the embassy did not get back to him despite him making four to five trips a month to check on his case.
According to Goh, a Mr Cai You Zhang wanted to meet Goh in Taiwan in 2010, as Mr Cai knew Taiwanese government officials who could help Goh get back his seized properties from Chinese authorities.
When Goh said he could not leave China without a passport, Mr Cai purportedly offered to help him.
Mr Cai supposedly obtained a “Filipino investment passport” for Goh and said he would send another man, Mr Huang Yueh Chao, to help Goh in the application process.
Mr Huang said there was an agent who could help Goh with his investment passport application by buying a tyre shop in the Philippines for US$250,000.
Goh needed to give a deposit of US$100,000 for the plan to work, he claimed, and did so before eventually paying the full sum.
In June 2010, Mr Huang allegedly returned to Xiamen and told Goh that his surname was spelt “Ngo” in the Philippines.
Goh then said he wanted to change his name to Boris as everyone, including the Chinese authorities, knew him as Ricky.
Goh later used the Philippines passport to leave China for Taiwan. He claimed he found out his mother had died and wanted to return to Singapore to see her for the last time.
He said he believed the passport was legitimate based on Mr Huang’s words, and because he had travelled to many countries with the passport without issues.
The prosecution’s case was that Goh had applied for a Singapore passport at the Singapore Consulate-General in Xiamen on Apr 28, 2010, but was not given one due to unresolved bankruptcy issues.
He was bankrupt from May 2001 to June 2015. As an undischarged bankrupt, he required permission to travel.
Goh knew about these issues but made no effort to resolve them, and instead paid US$250,000 for the Philippines passport, said the prosecutor.
After obtaining the passport from an unknown agent in 2011, he used it to travel in and out of Singapore.
The prosecutor said Goh knew the Philippines passport was a misleading document, based on the highly suspicious circumstances around how he obtained it.
Although Goh successfully applied for a Singapore passport in early 2012, he continued to use the Philippines passport.
The prosecution said he did so because he did not have the approval to travel as an undischarged bankrupt, and needed to avoid detection by Singapore authorities.
The prosecution sought 18 months to 21 months and six weeks’ jail for Goh, saying he had shown no remorse, instead putting forth “fanciful excuses” and spinning “an elaborate web of lies to justify his actions”.
For example, he claimed an individual known as “Max Toh” had sabotaged him and got him arrested.
He also kept up the pretence after investigations began, making a fresh passport application in December 2012 stating he had lost his Singapore passport in a Xiamen hotel, even though he had the passport, the prosecutor said.
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