The jail term of Hin Leong founder O.K. Lim has been reduced to 13 and a half years after the High Court allowed his appeal.
The court on Wednesday cut four years from the original term of Lim Oon Kuin, the 84-year-old founder of failed oil trading firm Hin Leong, according to The Straits Times.
 |
Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin arrives for sentencing at the State Courts in Singapore, Nov. 18, 2024. Photo by Reuters |
Justice Hoo Sheau Peng said the initial 17 and a half year sentence was “crushing” even after accounting for the usual one-third remission.
Lim, better known as O.K. Lim, had been sentenced in November 2024 on two counts of cheating and one count of abetting forgery, in what prosecutors described as “one of the most serious cases of trade financing fraud that has ever been prosecuted in Singapore.”
He was found to have deceived HSBC into disbursing US$111.6 million to Hin Leong on the basis of two fabricated oil sale contracts. He was also found to have instructed a former employee to forge documents linked to one of the sham contracts.
In her March 4 ruling, Justice Hoo found that the district judge had erred by giving weight to the prosecution’s argument that Lim’s offences had undermined public confidence in the oil sector. She also granted sentencing discounts in view of substantial restitution and Lim’s advanced age.
The judge noted that HSBC’s losses were nearly halved – from $56 million to $29.7 million – after Lim made restitution.
At an appeal hearing in November 2025, Lim’s lawyer drew parallels between his client’s case and that of property tycoon Ong Beng Seng.
The lawyer argued that there was a heightened risk that Lim could suffer a fall in prison that might result in his death.
Judicial mercy refers to the discretionary power of Singapore’s courts to impose a more lenient sentence due to exceptional mitigating circumstances. The threshold for its exercise is high.
But Lim’s susceptibility to falls alone did not justify judicial mercy, Justice Hoo said, adding that the Singapore Prison Service had indicated arrangements could be made to mitigate his fall risk.
