After racking up debts buying flower garlands for singers at "diao hua" clubs, a 33-year-old Singaporean took drastic measures to settle his accounts.

A "diao hua" club refers to a night club that where patrons can buy garlands or sashes and present them to the performers.

Liu Kuei Liang forged his mother's signature and lied to a car dealer to sell off her two cars, a Rolls Royce Dawn 6.6 V12 and a Mini Cooper SE.

He was sentenced to 12 weeks' jail on Mar. 22.

The crime

On Aug. 1, 2022, Liu contacted Low Lye Seng, a representative of car dealer Autoart Singapore Pte Ltd, to sell his mum's two cars.

The pair agreed that the Rolls Royce would be sold for S$700,000 and the Mini Cooper for S$130,000, netting Liu a total sum of S$830,000.

To convince Low that he was helping his mum sell the cars, Liu lied that his mother was away in Taiwan.

He also forged her signature in Chinese on the purchase agreement before sending them over via WhatsApp.

When Low asked for a phone number to confirm the sale of the cars, Liu enlisted the help of a friend in Taiwan, Lala.

He gave the dealer Lala's phone number — with a Taiwan country code — and asked her to help him answer the call.

After the call, Low authorised a deposit payment of S$100,000 for the Rolls Royce, and S$50,000 for the Mini Cooper.

Two weeks later, Liu's mother lodged a police report against her son.

The prosecution and defence

The prosecution sought an imprisonment term of four to six months.

They cited the "planning and premeditation" that Liu had engaged in, and the fact that the amounts involved in the case were "very high".

In defence, the counsel sought instead a high fine.

Calling Liu's crime "a momentary lapse of judgment", the counsel highlighted that Liu and his mum have since reconciled.

He added that the cars have been returned to the mother in exchange for the deposit, and that she has forgiven him and will not be asking for a refund of the deposit amount.

As the primary caregiver of Liu's young child, she would additionally "bear the brunt of his incarceration", the defence argued.

However, the prosecution noted that while full restitution had indeed been made for the S$150,000 deposit, the amount was paid by Liu's mother and not Liu himself.

In addition, a fine would be inappropriate as there was “nothing to stop” his mother from paying the fine for him as well, the prosecution said.

The sentence

In sentencing, the judge noted that there were two victims in this case: the car dealer, who had lost out on time, space, and potential interest; and Liu's mother.

"Further, as the accused’s mother, she was in the position of being taken advantage of by her son, by virtue of familial ties," the judge said.

She added that Liu "abused his mother's trust", and further "did not make amends on his own".

"The accused relied on the mother to rescue him from his mistakes. I agreed with the prosecution that whilst the accused pleaded guilty, restitution did not emanate from the accused.

As the prosecution stated: 'If someone else pays for your crime, how can we say that you are remorseful?'"

Liu is appealing against his sentence.

Top photo from SytnerTV/Youtube and Motorway.com.sg