Jail for man who cheated insurance firm of $1.9m by making false claims

A claims assessor with Prudential Assurance Co Singapore cheated the firm of around $1.9 million in total by making multiple false claims over more than two years.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

In what was described in court as "an egregious case of insurance fraud", Charn Sze Choong, 38, was able to circumvent the company's internal controls as its administrative staff acted on his instructions without the necessary verifications.

On Oct 22, he was sentenced to seven years and four months' jail and a fine of $1,000. He had pleaded guilty to nine charges, including five counts of cheating involving more than $1.3 million.

A total of 17 other charges, including those linked to the remaining amount of money, were considered during sentencing.

Charn, a claims assessor at the insurance firm from 2017 to 2021, has made no restitution.

His accomplice, Benjamin Song Junde, 40, was sentenced to a year, six months and two weeks' jail on Oct 3.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Louis Ngia said Charn's responsibilities as a claims assessor included processing claims made by Prudential's clients. Between December 2018 and February 2021, he used his knowledge of the firm's internal controls and made false claims under insurance policies that did not belong to him.