| Associated
Press March 21, 2006 SINGAPORE THE convicted former chief executive of China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Ltd began his prison term immediately on Tuesday, Mar 21, after prosecutors objected to a three-week deferment that had initially been granted to him, saying they were concerned the Chinese national was being given an opportunity to escape. Chen Jiulin was sentenced Tuesday to four years and three months in jail and fined S$335,000 (US$207,150; €170,740) for his pivotal role in the near of collapse of the Beijing-backed jet fuel trader in 2004 after it hid US$550,000 of trading losses from investors. District Judge Wong Keen Onn, who had granted Chen three weeks before imprisonment to organize his personal affairs, said deputy public prosecutor Daniel Koh had raised objections to Chen not going to jail immediately, despite earlier agreeing to the deferment. The judge withdrew the bail, which had been set at S$2.8 million (US$1.7 million; €1.4 million). Characterizing the situation as "very suspicious," Koh told the court that the defense had not given any good reason to support the deferment or a separate application to defer payment of fines, according to a court document. Wong, the judge, said in the document: "In addition, the convicted
person is a foreigner with no assets, no roots and no ties connected to
our country." |
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