Case and status
Former Bedezzled Media director Dezmond Loh Gai Kuang was convicted on three counts of false PIC information involving S$171,600 of cash payouts and bonuses. He received 14 months’ imprisonment and S$686,400 penalties, four times the amounts on proceeded counts.
Facts, amounts and outcome
Seven additional similar charges involving S$373,509 were considered. Recruited claimant Chang Lee Wong of 51 Soya Bean Curd had separately been convicted in April 2019 and received a S$103,200 penalty and S$5,000 fine. The source stresses responsibility of promoters as well as claimants. These historical PIC amounts are separate from present-day grant eligibility or support programmes.
Historical PIC conditions and abuse
The PIC case concerns genuine qualifying productivity expenditure and the applicable local-employee requirement. False invoices, inflated prices, sham purchases or listing people who did not work for the business do not meet those conditions. The release warns that claimants, suppliers, consultants and promoters may each be liable for their own conduct. Its discussion of PIC payouts and bonuses describes a historical scheme rather than an invitation to apply for a current grant.
Disclosure, reporting and rewards
IRAS encourages taxpayers to correct past errors and report suspected tax malpractices. The release says disclosure may be considered when deciding enforcement action; it is not a blanket promise of immunity. Where the release describes informant rewards, qualifying information leading to otherwise lost tax recovery may attract 15% of recovered tax, capped at S$100,000, at IRAS’ discretion. Informant identities are kept confidential. Use the official release links for its reporting and disclosure channels.
Official source
This report is independently written from the IRAS release dated above. Case status, policy announcements and historical figures refer to that release.
Read the complete IRAS release ↗