SINGAPORE: A company director was on Tuesday sentenced to 15 weeks' jail for obstructing investigations into his firm's suspected illegal supply of gasoil to a North Korean vessel.
Under international law, Singapore must implement United Nations Security Council sanctions and resolutions against North Korea to counter its nuclear weapons programme.UNSC resolutions prohibit the facilitation or engagement of ship-to-ship transfers of all refined petroleum products with North Korean-flagged vessels.
Low's job at the firm included printing out and tallying invoices related to its business dealings. He also reviewed contracts and explained their contents to Benito Aloria Yap, another company director. Yap also instructed that Low's iMac, which was used in Yuk Tung Energy's day-to-day operations, be removed.
On Feb 13, 2018, the Singapore Government received a request from the United Nations Panel of Experts for an explanation for the ship-to-ship transfer between MT Yuk Tung and Rye Song Gang 1. CAD was able to obtain some information and documents about Yuk Tung Energy's operations, including spreadsheets detailing the company's oil sales report.
According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs impact statement cited in court documents, Low's actions had a negative impact on Singapore's international reputation.