(Aug 7): Dressed in a purple jumpsuit emblazoned with the word “prisoner”, John Soh Chee Wen looked none the worse for wear on Aug 2 when he appeared in court after nearly nine months in remand.
Soh was in court for a hearing on a criminal motion to compel prosecutors to produce documents that are “relevant and germane” to his application to be released on bail. His lawyer, Tan Chee Meng of WongPartnership, argued that prosecutors have only produced extracts and portions of witness statements and audio recordings in a selective and haphazard manner to justify his continued detention.
“This has caused [Soh] great concern, and he therefore sought through us as his solicitors, the production of various documents from [prosecutors], which are directly relevant to the issue of bail and the allegations made against him,” Tan stated in his submission.
Peter Koy, a senior state counsel, argued that Soh and his lawyers had not been specific enough in their requests, and pointed out that they were asking for “all documents” that were relevant to issues concerning Soh’s application for bail.
“In short, the applicant wants everything but the kitchen sink,” the prosecutors stated in their submission.
“He is asking us to open our cupboards in the hope that he will get something,” Koy said in court on Aug 2. “It is a fishing expedition that ought to be dismissed.”
Soh has been accused of orchestrating a massive fraud in the manipulation of shares in Blumont Group, LionGold Corp and Asiasons Capital (now called Attilan Group) between August 2012 and October 2013.
On Nov 25 last year, he was slapped with 181 charges, most of which were related to using trading accounts registered to other individuals and companies to manipulate the three counters. He was also charged with cheating Goldman Sachs International and Interactive Brokers LLC of more than $180 million.
On the same day, former IPCO International CEO Quah Su Ling was slapped with 178 charges that were similar to Soh’s. Quah is said to be romantically linked to him.
Another individual, Goh Hin Calm, a former interim CEO of IPCO International, was hit with six charges for abetting Soh and Quah.
Quah is currently out on bail of $4 million, while Goh is out on bail of $750,000.
While prosecutors did not object to Quah and Goh being released on bail, they have resisted bail applications by Soh, asserting that he is a flight risk and has extensively interfered with witnesses. It also appears that Soh was involved in the manipulation of shares in ISR Capital up until he was arrested.
On Nov 24, the day he was arrested, the highflying stock suddenly went into a tailspin and lost half its value.
Investigations into ISR by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Commercial Affairs Department uncovered new evidence from an individual named Gabriel Gan, according to prosecutors.
Gan, known to be a broker with DMG & Partners (now part of RHB Securities), had audio recordings of conversations between himself and Soh.
As part of continued investigations into Soh’s activities, statements were also taken from Peter Chen, a former director of business and corporate development at Lion Gold, as well as Ken Tai, CEO of an outfit called AlgoCapital.
On Feb 28, Soh was slapped with seven more charges, for witness tampering, bringing the total number of charges he now faces to 188. The basis of the additional charges came from the statements by Chen and Tai, as well as the recordings made by Gan.
Now, Soh’s lawyers are arguing that some portions of the recordings of conversations between Gan and Soh actually contradict what prosecutors have alleged. For example, prosecutors have alleged that Soh had travelled out of Singapore even after his passport was impounded in January 2016, which makes him a flight risk.
They have also said he did not flee Singapore before his arrest because he was complacent and had not fully grasped the seriousness of the trouble he was in. To support these allegations, prosecutors presented a portion of a recorded conversation in court that had Soh saying the authorities did not have much of a case against him.
Yet, Tan pointed out in court on Aug 2 that Soh had also said in a conversation with Gan that he expected to be charged and possibly jailed.
“This goes directly against what the prosecution has attempted to portray by presenting only selective extracts to the court,” said Tan. “The prosecutors have conflated my client’s belief in his innocence with complacency.”
Soh’s lawyers, in their written submission, described their repeated requests for the prosecutors to share more documents, witness statements and call records. Each time, the prosecutors had said they were not entitled to the information.
“The position taken by the prosecution can only be characterised as stonewalling,” Soh’s lawyers said in their submission.
On their part, the prosecutors pointed out in their written submission that 172 of the initial 181 charges slapped on Soh are non-bailable.
The onus is thus on the defence to prove why bail should be granted. They also set out how they had provided Soh’s lawyers with information as it became available, and explained that Soh’s lawyers had expanded their requests for information in various letters.
According to the prosecutors, Soh’s lawyers have already been provided with five complete recordings and some 120 pages of unredacted transcriptions. A sixth recording, without a transcription, has also been given to them.
Soh’s lawyers have also been provided with verbatim excerpts of statements from four witnesses.
Judge See Kee Oon will make his decision on the criminal motion on Aug 8.
