Former insurance introducer convicted of giving incorrect expense claims in the Income Tax returns of insurance agents

Case and status

Ian Chew Yen, an insurance introducer, received S$4,000 in fines and S$186,816 in penalties on four charges of incorrect information in three insurance agents’ returns. False expenses of S$542,091 caused S$93,408 of income tax undercharged.

Facts, amounts and outcome

With assistance from Kyra You Yiying, Chew used figures supplied by the agents as general expenses and introducer commissions. He recruited people to sign sham acknowledgements and provide identity documents for S$50–S$200 each, despite no actual introducer services or payments. Kyra had been sentenced in June 2022, and the agents in September 2022. The case shows that a preparer can be liable for incorrect filings affecting another taxpayer, and fabricated acknowledgements do not substantiate deductions.

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.

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