Repeat offender misappropriated nearly $120k of company's payroll monies, back behind bars

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
Mar 8, 2024

A recalcitrant offender who has been in and out of jail for offences including cheating is back behind bars, after she misappropriated nearly $120,000 of her then employer’s payroll monies.

On March 8, Amanda Yao, 37, who used to be known as Yeow Shi Qi before she legally changed her name, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust before she was sentenced to two years and six months’ jail.

She has since made partial restitution of $20,000 to the company, which offers human resources services.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Brian Tan told the court that Yao had been given 10 weeks’ jail in 2015 over multiple counts of cheating.

In 2020, she was sentenced to a week in jail after she pleaded guilty to a theft charge.

Court documents did not disclose details about Yao’s earlier offences.

At the time of her latest offence, she was employed as a payroll master at the firm and had full access rights to create new outgoing transfers from its payroll bank account.

Between August 2022 and March 2023, Yao made 21 bank transfers, totalling nearly $120,000, from the company’s bank account to three bank accounts belonging to herself and a friend.

The DPP said: “The accused had designated these (transactions) as salary payments in the name of ex-employees of the company.

“These payments were fraudulent and the ex-employees would not have been entitled to these payments as they were not part of the company (at the time).”

The court heard that the friend had no knowledge of Yao’s criminal endeavour. This was because Yao had told her that she needed a bank account purportedly to receive a bonus.

The friend then shared her bank account details with Yao to receive the monies. The friend’s bank account later received nearly $21,300, and she transferred the amount to Yao.

Court documents did not disclose how the offence came to light, but a director at the company lodged a police report in April 2023.

Yao was charged in court later that year.