S'pore doctor who claimed he could not recall what happened to $18m gets 7 days' jail for contempt
SINGAPORE – Aesthetics doctor Goh Seng Heng was sentenced to seven days’ jail on Tuesday (Oct 19) after the High Court found he had lied when he said he could not recall what happened to a sum of $17.9 million that he had received.
Justice Lee Seiu Kin found that Goh was in contempt of court for lying in an affidavit in July 2020, after he was ordered to state what had become of the funds that were paid to his bank account in Guangzhou, China.
In April this year, Goh claimed in bankruptcy proceedings that he had lost the entire sum gambling in Macau.
The money was part of the $30.7 million that Chinese businesswoman Wang Xiaopu and her husband had paid in 2013 and 2014 to invest in the PPP Laser Clinic chain founded by Goh.
Madam Wang sued Goh in 2015 for fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of contract. She said she had been misled by Goh’s false claims into forking out the money to buy 66,000 shares in PPP’s parent company, Aesthetic Medical Partners.
In 2019, High Court judge Woo Bih Li ruled in her favour and ordered Goh to repay the $30.7 million.
Justice Woo also ruled that in the event Goh did not repay the sum, he had to account for what happened to the money.
Goh did not make any payment and instead filed an application to declare himself bankrupt.
Madam Wang then got a court order from Justice Woo, detailing the steps that Goh had to take to account for the money.
Goh filed two affidavits, including one in July 2020 in which he said he was “unable to recall” what happened to the funds.
In November, Madam Wang, who is represented by Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim and Ms Grace Morgan, started contempt proceedings against Goh for failing to comply with the order.
Nearly a year later, Goh said he had lost the sum gambling in Macau.
On Tuesday, Justice Lee found that the short jail term was sufficient to make it clear to the doctor that lying on an affidavit was not acceptable.
The judge said Goh also needs to show that he has purged his contempt by complying with Justice Woo’s order to account for the money.
“If he fails to purge his contempt, there may be further punishment or orders,” said Justice Lee, who granted a request by Goh’s lawyer, Mr Ng Lip Chih, for him to start his sentence on Nov 9.
After Ms Morgan pointed out that Goh lives on a yacht, the judge ordered Goh’s daughter, Dr Michelle Goh, to stand as surety to ensure he turns himself in.
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