Singapore jails man for exporting US$1 million of flavoured Pokka drinks to North Korea
- Phua Sze Hee, 59, pleaded guilty to sending Japanese firm Pokka’s products, including strawberry milk, to North Korea via China and Malaysia
- Phua had been introduced to ‘Mr Kim’, ‘Mr Mun’ at North Korean embassy; his lawyers said he was merely acting in his capacity as an employee for Pokka
A former Singaporean employee of Japanese drink company Pokka was sentenced to five weeks’ jail this week after he admitted to illegally exporting close to US$1 million worth of the company’s products to North Korea.
Phua Sze Hee, 59, pleaded guilty to four charges under the Regulation of Imports and Exports Regulations, with 24 other similar charges taken into consideration during sentencing.
It is an offence for any person in Singapore, or even a citizen outside Singapore, to have any commercial dealings with North Korea.
The prosecution told the court that Phua’s offences took place between November 2017 and September 2018.
He had sold various beverages from Pokka to several Singapore businesses with the knowledge that the drinks would be exported to North Korea for commercial trade.
The four businesses, which are generally in the wholesale trade, were: Tan Quang Singapore; Baron & Baron; A-Linkz Marketing; 123 Duty Free.
During the period of the offences, Phua was the channel manager at Pokka International, a job he had held since 2009 that required him to be involved in the general wholesale, retail trade, sales and distribution of Pokka’s products.
The firm also instituted a monthly sales target of S$1.25 million (US$922,000). Phua’s offences helped him meet this target.
In all, the total value of goods that Phua exported to North Korea was S$1,295,162 (US$955,000). He did not earn a commission for these sales.
Phua was let go by Pokka this year and is now working as a part-time driver.
How it started
The prosecution said Phua was introduced in 2014 to an ambassador at the North Korean embassy in Singapore, someone called “Mr Kim”, through his customer Zheng Shi Qiang.
Zheng is the director of Tan Quang Singapore, Baron & Baron, and another business named Beneta. There is no current information on what Beneta does as a business.
On occasion, Kim would liaise with Phua for the Pokka beverages sold to Zheng, and also raise matters to Phua regarding the purchase of Pokka beverages.
When Kim died in early 2015, Zheng then introduced Phua to someone named “Mr Mun” who was working at the North Korean embassy.
The prosecution said Zheng had introduced these men as his business partners to Phua for the purchase of Pokka beverages, and that Phua was informed that all beverages sold to Zheng’s companies would be exported to North Korea for sale there.
Around December 8, 2017, Phua sent an invoice to Tan Quang for the purchase of 2,520 cartons of Pokka Strawberry Milk, which were sold for S$32,356 (US$23,800).
He did the same for Baron & Baron in January 2018 for the purchase of 5,040 cartons of Pokka Premium Milk Coffee Regular, which were sold for S$68,167.
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Both Tan Quang and Baron & Baron then exported the goods to North Korea via Dalian in China for an export value of S$44,137 and S$87,174, respectively.
Phua had also learned from the respective directors of A-Linkz Marketing and 123 Duty Free, Tay Kiong Chiak and Ryan Wang Jung Chung, about the demand for Pokka beverages in North Korea.
He sold, through Pokka, 3,463 cartons of its Strawberry Milk and 909 cartons of its Premium Milk Coffee Regular to Wang for S$69,110 on May 24 in 2018.
He also sold 2,541 cartons of Pokka Strawberry Milk to Tay indirectly through a third company, Chee Tat Holdings, for S$66,191 around September 11 in 2018.
A-Linkz Marketing was able to ship the goods to North Korea through Klang in Malaysia, with an export value of S$84,492.
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123 Duty Free did the same via Dalian for an export value of S$77,044.
Phua’s lawyer, Safiuddin Naseem, sought a jail term of between four and six weeks, saying his client had dealings with the firms involved in his case before the trade prohibitions with North Korea.
Phua believed that he had the approval of his directors and direct superiors to continue dealing with these companies, the lawyer said.
Phua did not obtain any financial benefit from his dealings with North Korea or any commission for his sales, and was simply acting in his capacity as an employee for the company, Safiuddin added.
The lawyer also said the total value of goods exported was small, and it formed only about 10 per cent of the monthly sales targets that Phua had to meet.
Therefore, he said, the six to eight weeks’ jail term that the prosecution had sought would be “quite excessive” given the circumstances of the case.
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It was not stated in court if either Tay or Wang would be dealt with for their business dealings with North Korea.
In a statement, Pokka clarified that it had not been charged with any offences, and it was “committed to ensuring that it complies with all national laws and United Nation sanctions”, including ensuring that it had no dealings with North Korea.
It also said it had a strict management policy not to trade with distributors that export to North Korea directly or indirectly. Furthermore, it would immediately suspend business with customers, in and outside Singapore, that are suspected of trading in North Korea, Pokka added.
“The individual convicted is a former employee of Pokka who acted in contradiction of our stated management policy not to trade with distributors that export to North Korea,” it said.
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Pokka added that once it has become aware that charges had been brought against Phua, it “acted quickly to terminate his employment”.
“We expect all Pokka employees to abide by our management policies and to act lawfully and ethically in all business activities.”
Anyone in Singapore found guilty of exporting goods to North Korea can be fined up to S$100,000 (US$73,700) – or three times the value of the goods in respect of which the offence was committed, whichever is the greater – or jailed up to two years, or both.
