MAN BEHIND ALLEGED MULTI MILLION DOLLAR GOLD INVESTMENT SCAM CHARGED
On 17 February 2023, 44-year-old Lee Song Teck (Li Songde) (“Lee”) was charged in court with ten counts of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code (Chapter 224, 2008 Rev Ed).
The charges arose from investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department (“CAD”) into a gold investment buyback scheme offered by The Gold Guarantee Pte Ltd (“TGG”) between 2011 and 2013. As part of the investigations, CAD also investigated five other companies which were connected to Lee. Lee was the sole director and shareholder of TGG and these five companies. One of the five companies investigated include The Discovery Group Pte Ltd (“Discovery”), which offered timeshare membership investments that were purportedly backed by warrants issued by TGG.
Lee had allegedly cheated 10 investors of Discovery into believing that their investments were guaranteed by warrants issued by TGG, resulting in the 10 investors disbursing $157,000 to Discovery, which the investors would not have done had they not been so deceived. For each count of offence, persons convicted face imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine. Investigations are ongoing. CAD commenced investigations into TGG and the five companies in January 2013. Lee left Singapore on 18 January 2013, prior to the commencement of investigations and was arrested on 2 February 2023, when he returned to Singapore.
A pig farmers' son who grew up to own $1m Bentley, gold trader charged with 10 counts of cheating
On March 6, 2013, more than 180 people at Hong Lim Park signed a petition to be submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office. They were investors in a gold trading company called The Gold Guarantee (TGG), the founder and CEO of which, Lee Song Teck, had gone missing.
And so has the money they entrusted him with, some up to $1 million. The petition called for the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) to speed up its investigations.
Almost 10 years later, Lee, now 44, was charged in court with ten counts of cheating on Friday (Feb 17), said police. The charges arose from investigations by CAD into a gold investment buyback scheme offered by TGG between 2011 and 2013. As part of the investigations, CAD also investigated five other companies which were connected to Lee, who was the sole director and shareholder of TGG and these five companies.
Gold trader in Singapore charged with cheating
The Gold Guarantee founder & CEO Lee Song Teck left Singapore on Jan 18, 2013, and was arrested on Feb 2, 2023, when he returned. The Straits Times
The son of pig farmers, Lee took over his family's animal pharmaceutical business when he was 20. "I am an only child, and I lived on a pig farm until I was eight," he told The Straits Times in 2012. "Our farm seemed huge, but we were one of the few poor pig farmers at the time. My father set up the animal pharmaceutical wholesale business while running the farm, and my mother helped him with the accounts. "However, we were quite poor until about 10 years ago because my father, who died when I was 17, was a gambler. My parents used to tell me I must never gamble."
At age 22, he went to Sydney for undergraduate studies. After his return to Singapore, he tried his hand at being a property agent, and running a fitness centre and a property investment seminar business. He also invested in property and gold. "I believe in only real estate and gold, which I can see and touch, and which have real value. My gold investment portfolio is now worth $30 million," Lee said in the ST interview. "I have achieved average returns of 200 per cent a year from my property investments and some of my businesses. I plan to achieve a net worth of $200 million. When that happens, I intend to pledge 90 per cent to charity." He added: "I do not smoke, drink or gamble, and I am not into fine dining. The only luxury items I spend on are spa packages for me and my friends. I also buy presents for my friends. It feels nice to be able to buy things for the people I love." Lee said his greatest extravagance was his new $1 million Bentley Supersports, which was his "dream car". He also drove a white BMW 5 series model. His company The Gold Guarantee was incorporated in 2011.
CAD probing The Gold Guarantee
The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) is investigating The Gold Guarantee. Explaining the nature of its probe against the gold trading firm, the CAD said it is "focused on the business practices of the company" and whether criminal offences have been committed.
"If there is criminal wrongdoing, the CAD will do its best to ensure that monies that have been illegally obtained are recovered and properly dealt with according to the law," said the white-collar crime busters recently in an advisory posted on its website. This development comes after two dozen unhappy clients of The Gold Guarantee visited the CAD on Jan 25 to lodge complaints.
They had invested tens of thousands of dollars in savings into the 18-month-old firm and were concerned after its founder and chief executive, Mr Lee Song Teck, became uncontactable that week. Red flags were raised after Mr Lee did not show up for a meeting with clients on Jan 21. He has been largely uncontactable since and did not answer his phone when The Sunday Times called him last week.
Prime: From pig farmers to supermarket empire
Three Generations Of Pig Farmers
If you get your groceries from a neighbourhood centre, you would have shopped at Prime Supermarket. The company has 20 outlets spread across the island nestled in neighbourhood areas, making it the largest family-owned supermarket chain in Singapore. You may even have heard about the Tan family who owns Prime, because they’re famously known for being the household of 80 members, spanning 5 generations under one roof. Their uncommon living arrangement has garnered the attention of the media, seeing the family and their 32-room mansion featured in the news and on television.
In this interview, the Tan family said they had always lived communally, as they were brought up to stay together and look out for one another. Their journey in Singapore goes all the way back to 1913, when Tan Yang Zhui migrated from Santou, Guangdong with three sons. He was 27 then. The small family grew vegetables for years, until they started pig farming with a pair of piglets in 1928. Eventually, it was named Tan Chye Huat Farm when one of Yang Zhui’s sons, Ah Chye, took over the business after his father’s passing.
Ah Chye and his two brothers, along with their wives and children, moved in together to live as one household. Most of their children got involved to work on the pig farm too. From time to time, the farm was plagued with issues like floods or government redevelopment plans, and they found themselves having to move from Geylang to Changi, Ang Sar Lee, and finally Punggol. However, that came to an end in 1984, when the Singapore government executed a complete phasing out of pig farming.
Sheng Siong: From pig farmer's sons to supermarket empire bosses
Lim Hock Chee and his wife used to sell chilled pork at a rented stall in a grocery store. Now, after more than 35 years, his family members operate 61 supermarkets across Singapore and have joined the ranks of billionaires.
Shares of their Singapore-listed Sheng Siong Group rose to a record on Wednesday (April 15) as supermarkets have become the preferred place to shop after the Government imposed a partial lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The stock has rallied more than 30 per cent since a March 19 closing low.
The family's combined fortune, based on its 57 per cent stake in the supermarket chain held mainly by Mr Lim and his two brothers, has surged to US$1.1 billion (S$1.57 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
From pig farmers to millionaires
First Prime Supermarket In Kallang
If you get your groceries from a neighbourhood centre, you would have shopped at Prime Supermarket. The company has 20 outlets spread across the island nestled in neighbourhood areas, making it the largest family-owned supermarket chain in Singapore. You may even have heard about the Tan family who owns Prime, because they’re famously known for being the household of 80 members, spanning 5 generations under one roof. Their uncommon living arrangement has garnered the attention of the media, seeing the family and their 32-room mansion featured in the news and on television.
In this interview, the Tan family said they had always lived communally, as they were brought up to stay together and look out for one another. Their journey in Singapore goes all the way back to 1913, when Tan Yang Zhui migrated from Santou, Guangdong with three sons. He was 27 then. The small family grew vegetables for years, until they started pig farming with a pair of piglets in 1928. Eventually, it was named Tan Chye Huat Farm when one of Yang Zhui’s sons, Ah Chye, took over the business after his father’s passing.
Ah Chye and his two brothers, along with their wives and children, moved in together to live as one household. Most of their children got involved to work on the pig farm too. From time to time, the farm was plagued with issues like floods or government redevelopment plans, and they found themselves having to move from Geylang to Changi, Ang Sar Lee, and finally Punggol. However, that came to an end in 1984, when the Singapore government executed a complete phasing out of pig farming.
