Resources
Singapore white-collar and commercial crime guides — fraud, cheating, criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering, penalties and defences.
White-collar and commercial crime covers offences that arise in business and financial settings — including fraud, cheating, criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering. These cases are often document-heavy, involve multiple parties, and can develop over a long investigation.
The guides in this section explain how these offences are framed in Singapore, what the prosecution typically needs to establish, the defences that may be available, and how such matters progress from investigation to court. Because commercial cases can be complex and reputationally sensitive, early and strategic legal advice is valuable. If you or your company is under investigation, speak to a criminal lawyer before responding, so your position is properly understood and protected.
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Chua Ya Zi Sandy v Public Prosecutor [2021] SGHC 204 is a recent, Chief Justice-delivered decision on sentencing for criminal breach of trust by an employee under section 408 of the Penal Code. It restates the amount-keyed approach that governs these common workplace-dishonesty cases. Key points […]
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Lew Chee Fai Kevin v Monetary Authority of Singapore [2012] SGCA 12 is the leading Court of Appeal decision on the elements of insider trading in Singapore. It explains what counts as inside “information” and when information is “generally available”, in a civil-penalty action brought by […]
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Scams and online cheating have become one of Singapore’s most pressing crime problems, and the courts treat them with firm, deterrent sentences. There is no single framework judgment covering every scam, but the sentencing approach is well settled through Public Prosecutor v Fernando Payagala Waduge Malitha […]
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Tan Song Cheng v Public Prosecutor [2021] SGHC 138 is the leading sentencing decision for income tax evasion in Singapore. It set out a harm-and-culpability framework for offences of wilful intent to evade tax under section 96(1) of the Income Tax Act, on top of the […]
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Soh Chee Wen v Public Prosecutor — the case arising from the 2013 “penny stock crash” — is Singapore’s largest market-manipulation prosecution. The convictions and record sentences were affirmed by the Court of Appeal (conviction appeal [2025] SGCA 49; sentence appeal [2026] SGCA 13), following the […]
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Ding Si Yang v Public Prosecutor [2015] SGHC 8 is the leading modern Singapore judgment on the sentencing of match-fixing. It treated match-fixing as a serious corruption offence and recalibrated sentences upward, emphasising deterrence and the reputational harm such conduct causes. Key points at a glance […]
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Public Prosecutor v Muhammad Nuzaihan bin Kamal Luddin [1999] SGHC 275 is an early but enduring authority on sentencing for computer crime in Singapore. It established that general deterrence can take precedence when sentencing offences under the Computer Misuse Act, given how easily such offences are […]
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Huang Ying-Chun v Public Prosecutor [2018] SGHC 269; [2019] 3 SLR 606 is a leading Singapore decision on sentencing for money laundering under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (the CDSA). It set out a harm–culpability framework for offenders who […]
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Wong Chee Meng v Public Prosecutor [2020] SGHC 144 is the leading decision on sentencing for corruption involving the public sector. It set out a structured harm–culpability framework for offences under section 6 read with section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act — the aggravated […]
Educational summary of named public judgments. Not legal advice. Logachev Vladislav v Public Prosecutor [2018] SGHC 12; [2018] 4 SLR 609 is one of the most influential Singapore sentencing decisions — not because of the offence itself, but because it set out a clear five-step harm–culpability framework that has since been adapted to many other […]
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