Four alleged victims of a multi-million-dollar luxury goods scam failed in their bid to have the police release S$2.84 million of seized monies to them.
The four had obtained default judgment from the high court against the couple Pi Jiapeng, 28, and Siriwipa Pansuk, 28.
Pi and Pansuk have been charged in court for cheating customers using the companies Tradenation and Tradeluxury.
In a judgment made publicly available on Oct. 21, 2023, the district judge explained why she dismissed their application for the release of the monies.
Applied for police to release monies from 4 bank accounts and sale of car
According to the judgment, the four sued Pi and Pansuk in the high court for alleged "unfulfilled orders" and obtained default judgments of S$2,610,818 in total, plus interests and costs, against Tradenation and Tradeluxury on Aug. 3, 2022, and against the couple on Sep. 29, 2022.
It was previously reported that the couple had failed to deliver 40 Rolex watches, a Patek Philippe watch, and four Hermes bags to them.
They are seeking a release of funds from four bank accounts seized by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) during their investigations — one in the name of Pansuk and three in the name of Tradenation.
The bank accounts were issued with orders for prohibition of dealings between Jun. 21, 2022, and Jul. 4, 2022.
The four also applied for the monies from the proceeds of the sale of Pi's Chevrolet Corvette V8, which was seized by the CAD on Jul. 12, 2022, but sold off after a bank was permitted to repossess it.
The sum of S$83,472.23 was handed to the Accountant-General's Department on Apr. 5, 2023, after the car was sold off.
Monies should be kept by CAD to focus on investigations: Prosecution
The prosecution asked for the judge to dismiss the victims' application.
While they accept that it was reasonable for the four to apply for the monies seized, the prosecution argued that the seizure happened before they obtained the judgments.
Regardless, the prosecution believed that the four were not entitled to the monies "in the interests of justice" as funds for the purchase of the vehicle were traceable to at least two other alleged victims.
The prosecution stated that the CAD should be allowed to focus on investigations, and by allowing this application to go through, further applications would likely be brought up by other alleged victims in order to "secure a share of the seized proceeds".
Judge's decision
The district judge agreed with the prosecution that as the prohibition orders were issued before the four obtained the default judgments, the law does not entitle them to the monies.
On the issue of whether the four were entitled to the proceeds of the sale of Pi's Chevrolet, the judge noted several differences.
Even though the proceeds of the sale were obtained after the four obtained the judgments, the monies were held by the police rather than being held by a financial institution.
The judge explained in detail in her judgment that she found the law does not allow "judgment creditors" to enforce "judgment debt" against property in the possession of the police.
She added that while she does not know if this was Parliament's exact intent, as it was not specified in the debates, she believes it to be a logical interpretation.
On another note, she pointed out that as a large proportion of the balance sale proceeds, S$76,500, could be traced to two other alleged victims, even if the monies were allowed to be released, the two alleged victims' legal entitlement would have to be considered.
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