SINGAPORE, Dec 31 – A 58-year-old Singaporean man at the center of a Malaysia-based drug syndicate has been jailed for 28 years and nine months in what prosecutors have described as Singapore’s biggest money laundering case linked to drug trafficking, Street times reported yesterday.
Lian Hoe Heng, described by Judicial Commissioner Christopher Tan as a “central part of the drug enterprise”, coordinated the supply of narcotics into Singapore and laundered more than S$1.27 million (RM4.17 million) in drug proceeds.
Prosecutors revealed that Lian had laundered about S$203,000 of his own criminal proceeds and more than S$1.07 million from a syndicate member known as ‘Kadi’.
Lian pleaded guilty to five charges, including one for drug trafficking and four for money laundering. A further 18 charges were taken into account.
According to the facts of the case, Lian admitted to inciting another Singaporean, Tan Guosheng, to possess 249.99 grams of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking – just below the 250 gram limit that would have carried the death penalty.
Tan, 30, was both a client of the syndicate and an agent who helped Lian collect and distribute drugs. His case is still pending in court.
Between 2020 and his arrest in 2023, Lian operated as a key figure in the syndicate, receiving orders for drugs including methamphetamine, ketamine, cannabis and MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy.
He would pass these orders on to Kadi, who would arrange their delivery to various locations in Singapore.
Lian was compensated with methamphetamine or a few hundred dollars per order.
He also instructed customers to transfer payments to bank accounts in Singapore and Malaysia, retaining some of the money as compensation.
Lian laundered the proceeds through his accounts, his girlfriend’s account in Vietnam and through third parties, including one identified only as “Lao Ban Niang.”
Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) exposed Lian’s role following Tan’s arrest in October 2020.
Officers had intercepted Tan with crystal methamphetamine at his rented house in Kembangan.
Lian fled to Malaysia in 2018 and lived in Johor Baru while working under Kadi’s instructions.
He was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police in March 2023 and repatriated to Singapore the following month.
Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Khoo likened Lian’s role to that of a chief operating officer in a company, underscoring his significant involvement in the syndicate.
Lian’s lawyer, Choo Si Sen, had in return argued that financial hardship had prompted him to join the syndicate.