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The owner of a transport company was sentenced to a year’s jail yesterday (26 June) for cheating two primary school principals in Singapore into awarding contracts to the firm under false pretences.
The director of Sindoz Group was also fined $4,000 and ordered to pay the schools compensation amounting to $58,830. If he is unable to pay the amount, he would have to spend an additional five months in jail.
In 2014, two primary schools had separately invited transport providers to tender bids to be an official school bus operator.
Sindoz’s director Adrian Lee submitted documents to the schools claiming to have a fleet of 237 buses, despite only having one van.
The principals of Red Swastika School and Coral Primary School consequently awarded contracts to Sindoz, which failed to provide the transport services.
The schools then spent an additional five-figure sum each to secure a replacement school bus operator – Red Swastika’s management paid $48,380; while Coral Primary had to pay $10,450.
Red Swastika also later found out that after securing the contract for the 2015 academic year, Sindoz had collected about $49,000 in total from 250 parents who wished to engage its services for their children.
However, despite repeated queries from the school, Sindoz was unable to provide full information on bus routes as well as pick-up and drop-off times.
Red Swastika then terminated the contract on 31 December 2014 and made alternative arrangements with another transport provider.
Lee used a similar method to cheat Coral Primary’s school principal and after signing the contract, Sindoz collected about $3,790 from parents for its services.
Sindoz was engaged for 26 students who were supposed to be transported in two buses but on the first day of school on 2 January 2015, the firm deployed their only vehicle, the van, to transport the pupils.
Coral Primary immediately terminated their contract that day and found another bus provider for $10,450.
According to The Straits Times, the district judge found Lee guilty of two cheating charges and one count of criminal breach of trust. Lee’s lawyer said he would be appealing against his conviction and sentence. He is now out on a $30,000 bail.
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