A safety coordinator at Shimizu Corporation was sentenced yesterday (26 October) to 14 months in jail after repeatedly conning his safety supervisor over a month-long period.
Boopalan Vengdasalam admitted to cheating the victim four times for a total of S$24,500 from late May to late June this year. The court also took into consideration four other charges involving a total of S$7,000.
In May, he told the victim he had a friend, called Kelvin, who was employed by an oil and gas company. He claimed Kelvin’s company was looking for safety officers and was willing to pay S$8,000 per month plus overtime.
Boopalan then asked the victim for S$5,000 to cover Kelvin’s commission to secure the job. This amount was transferred to Boopalan on 28 May.
The victim was later informed that a shipyard was seeking someone for the position of “working at height assessor with scaffold supervisor”. Boopalan claimed this job would pay S$6,000 per month and that the victim could work this job in tandem with the safety officer position previously mentioned.
The victim transferred a further S$5,000 as an “administrative fee” to Boopalan on 30 May.
On 13 June, Boopalan told the victim that Kelvin was seeking two safety coordinators and suggested they both enter a joint venture to supply these employees. He added he had already found two men who were willing to be subcontracted. The victim gave Boopalan S$8,000 as his contribution for the partnership.
Lastly, the victim transferred another S$6,500 on 25 June to pay for the two men to be certified as safety coordinators.
On 28 June, the victim lodged a police report saying he had been cheated. He has yet to be reimbursed his money.
Boopalan has prior convictions for drug-related offences and attempted robbery. He could have been sentenced for a maximum of 10 years and received a fine for each charge.
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