By Christopher Tan

THE taxman has reeled in another motor trader suspected of evading taxes. Lauren Sim Guan Heng was arrested by Singapore Customs on Monday and charged in court yesterday.

The 44-year-old faces 146 charges of "fraudulent evasion of excise duty and GST" and 124 charges of "making incorrect declarations", a Singapore Customs spokesman said.

The alleged underpayment, pertaining to 310 Japanese cars brought in by the parallel importer between 2006 and 2007, amounts to about $417,000.

Sim is the managing director of Cars Motor Enterprise and a manager at Crane Motor Enterprise.

He is also linked to 27 other companies, including One 99 Limousine, Stratford Poultry Trading and Nails Art Beauty & Wellness.

It is understood that the 310 cars were brought in under Crane Motor Enterprise. Sim is also a member of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association.

If found guilty, he faces fines of up to 20 times the amount evaded, a jail sentence, or both. He would also have to cough up a sizeable amount in additional registration taxes pertaining to the cars.

Singapore Customs has charged 12 motor traders in court with similar offences since last November.

So far, only one has been convicted. Toh Chee Wee, 36, owner of Yi Sheng Trading, was fined $1.42 million in April for evading duties and taxes totalling $145,181.

Trials of the others - including Ho Yik Fuh of Frankel Motor, Max Ong of BHP Auto and Tay Kien Chuan of 8th Gear - are ongoing. In all, the evaded amount adds up to more than $4 million.

The Straits Times understands that several other traders are also being investigated.

Commenting on the latest bust, Singapore Customs said it will "take to task traders which flout Customs regulations to defraud the state or to gain an unfair advantage over other traders".

Under the Customs Act, importers must ensure the accuracy and completeness of the values of their goods.

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