Why is it that Informatics always kena this kind of trouble??? Who's from Informatics? Do you think that so many of such cases can ruin the reputation of the school? If it does, then I fear that those students might not get employed so easily next time...
Informatics founder Wong Tai fined S$240,000 for overstating profit
By Johnson Choo, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 01 September 2006 1956 hrs
Informatics founder Wong Tai has been fined $240,000 for overstating the profits of the company for three quarters.
But he has been spared a custodial sentence, which could have seen him jailed for up to 14 years.
District Judge Valerie Thean said Wong was not jailed as she believes the offence was not committed with dishonesty, but was more a case of what she described as "aggressive accounting".
Wong Tai was found guilty of two charges under the Securities and Futures Act.
He had overstated the profits of Informatics by a total of S$4.18 million for the three quarters ending 31 December 2003.
In mitigation, his lawyer K Shanmugam highlighted the fact that when Wong Tai was CEO, the private education services provider did not commit any similar offence.
He said it was only after Wong gave up his executive positions in Informatics that the company adopted a different revenue recognition policy.
This led to fees collected from students upon registration to be entered as revenue for the immediate financial quarter.
This move contravened the usual prudent accounting practice of recognising these monies over a period of 12 months, since the education services would have to be provided over that time.
In passing sentence, the judge said while Wong Tai was not dishonest, the financial report presented was not kept in accordance to accepted accounting practices.
And this, the judge says is important, as Singapore positions itself as a financial centre.
Informatics co-founder and former CEO Ong Boon Kheng is also being charged with three counts of giving misleading statements and 1 count of issuing a misleading profit warning under the Securities and Futures Act.
He's expected to claim trial, and his case will be heard next Monday. - CNA/ch
