By Khushwant Singh
THE latest offender to be jailed for involvement in an insurance
scam involving fake personal injury accident claims by phantom
passengers, is ex-cabby Lim Mui Chin.
The 55-year-old was on Tuesday, jailed two months for falsely
declaring that Peter Lim Aik Kee, 51, was the passenger injured in
a collision with a car at an Ang Mo Kio car park on May 11,
2008.
This was to support Peter's claim of $7,344 from insurer NTUC
Income for injuries sustained in the accident. No money was paid
out as the insurance agency learnt from the other driver involved
in the accident that the passengers in the taxi were a Malay couple
and not a Chinese man.
Police were then called in and Lim admitted to conspiring with
Peter and Phang Choon Meng, 38, to cheat NTUC Income. Lim, who
pleaded guilty on Jan 18, will start his prison sentence on Monday
as he wishes to celebrate Chinese New Year with his family.
Peter was jailed for two months in December 2010 while Phang is
expected to be sentenced on Tuesday. At least 13 other phantom
passengers have been dealt with. Four were placed on probation for
between 15 and 18 months while four others were jailed between two
and six months.
The district court heard that Lim met Peter and Phang at a
coffee shop in Sin Ming when he brought his taxi to a workshop
there for repairs after the accident. After learning about the
mishap, Phang suggested that Peter could stand in as a phantom
passenger and submit a false injury claim since no particulars were
taken from the real passengers. If the claim was successful, Phang
promised to give Peter $1,000. Pleading for leniency, defence
counsel Adrian Wee said Lim was not promised any money and had
played a 'very small role' in the conspiracy.