Case and status
Zhang Baicheng and his father Zhang Yaoqun were convicted of tourist-refund offences. Baicheng arranged for his tourist father to claim S$247.94 on a S$3,790 handbag; Yaoqun also claimed for a colleague’s diamond ring, totalling S$1,791.87 refunds.
Facts, amounts and outcome
Baicheng and colleague Bai Jiaming worked in Singapore and did not qualify as tourists; Yaoqun was not the actual buyer. The father and son received S$3,500 and S$2,000 fines respectively. The goods were returned to a local participant after refund approval. The release explains that engaging another person to claim and knowingly receiving goods already approved for refund can be separate offences; travel status does not legitimise another person’s purchase.
Tourist-refund conditions and examples
The release treats the scheme as a refund for an eligible tourist’s actual purchases taken out of Singapore. Buying another customer’s receipt, using someone else’s passport or returning refunded goods to a local person can defeat those conditions and create offences. Retailers and helpers can also face action for their participation. The eTRS tickets, airport procedures and examples in older releases describe the system at publication; current operational details remain on IRAS’ official guidance.
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 ↗