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CNA
10-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Bankrupt doctor fined S$43,000 for not disclosing about S$4 million in assets
SINGAPORE: A bankrupt doctor was fined S$43,000 (US$33,600) by a court on Wednesday (Jul 9) for failing to disclose about S$4 million in assets. Dr Goh Seng Heng, a 70-year-old Singaporean, had omitted to disclose assets including S$1.4 million in shares, as well as about S$1.2 million and US$900,000 owed to him by the Singapore Yacht Charter. The fine was fully paid by his daughter. Dr Goh is still an undischarged bankrupt and is listed as a registered doctor on the Singapore Medical Council's website. He pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Bankruptcy Act for not disclosing his disposal of certain assets, or not disclosing that those assets existed. WHAT HAPPENED Dr Goh was a well-known aesthetic doctor. In 2015, a Chinese businesswoman, Wang Xiaopu, launched proceedings against him for alleged fraudulent misrepresentation over the sale of his company's shares to her. The High Court in March 2023 held that Dr Goh, who founded the PPP Laser Clinic chain, had moved millions in assets to his family members with the intent to defraud his creditors. Madam Wang obtained a judgment for a full return of her investment, with interest and costs, that amounted to more than S$40 million. However, Dr Goh did not repay the money and instead voluntarily obtained a bankruptcy order in March 2020. He was adjudged a bankrupt in March 2020 and the Official Assignee was appointed to administer his affairs in bankruptcy. Today, he is still an undischarged bankrupt, with a total debt of about S$48 million owed to his creditors as of May 2025. After his bankruptcy was declared, the Official Assignee wrote to Dr Goh to submit information necessary to make the statement of his affairs complete. However, Dr Goh made a number of "material omissions". These include his shares in the Dr Michelle Goh company, disposed of in June 2015, and shares in GSHKML that were disposed of in February 2015, insurance policies disposed of in March 2020 and debts of more than S$2 million owed to Dr Goh by the Singapore Yacht Charter, which were disposed of in September 2017. Dr Goh did not disclose that he had disposed of 760 shares worth S$306,766.40 to his wife, daughter and two sons for a total consideration of S$4. He was supposed to have disclosed this, as it was done within five years before the date of his bankruptcy. He also did not disclose that he had disposed of three shares worth S$1.38 million to his children for a total consideration of S$3. Dr Goh also had a Prudential Insurance Policy with an initial value of S$162,744. However, he took out a loan of S$146,000 against this policy in March 2020 and did not pay back any part of this loan before terminating the policy by surrendering it for S$16,743.55. He similarly took out a loan of S$278,000 against a policy valued at S$308,993 in March 2020 and surrendered it for S$30,993. In September 2017, he assigned the debts worth more than S$2 million owed to him by the Singapore Yacht Charter to his wife for zero consideration. A prosecutor from the Ministry of Law sought a total fine of S$43,000 for Dr Goh, saying his offences impeded the orderly administration of his bankruptcy estate. MITIGATION Defence lawyers, Mr Chooi Jing Yen and Ms Claire Chong from Mr Chooi's eponymous law firm, did not object to the fine sought by the prosecution. Mr Chooi said his client had no previous convictions and had indicated his plea of guilt early in the proceedings. When Dr Goh self-petitioned for bankruptcy on Mar 6, 2020, he was unrepresented and acted as a layperson without the benefit of legal advice, said Mr Chooi. When he submitted the requested information, he was also unrepresented and acting without legal advice, and the omissions were "inadvertent and unintentional", said the lawyer. Once the omissions were discovered, Dr Goh fully cooperated with the Official Assignee, said Mr Chooi. He said Dr Goh had genuinely forgotten about several of the sums he omitted as they were disposed of too long ago or were relatively small. Mr Chooi said Dr Goh, although bankrupt, has access to funds that are not available for creditors in the form of support from his daughter, who undertook to pay the fine on his behalf. The lawyer cited the High Court case of Tan Beng Chua v Public Prosecutor, where the judge noted that there is no reason why, in appropriate circumstances, a fine cannot be considered where a bankrupt has access to such sources of funds.
The Star
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
S$43,000 fine for undischarged bankrupt doctor in Singapore who failed to disclose assets worth over S$4mil
Goh Seng Heng will have to spend 22 weeks behind bars if the amount is not paid. - Photo: ST file SINGAPORE: An undischarged bankrupt doctor with a total debt of nearly S$48 million owing to his creditors as at May 28 failed to disclose assets worth more than S$4 million to the authorities. Goh Seng Heng, 70, who founded the PPP Laser Clinic chain, was fined $43,000 on Wednesday (July 9) after he pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Bankruptcy Act. He will have to spend 22 weeks behind bars if the amount is not paid. In 2019, he lost a lawsuit filed by businesswoman Wang Xiaopu, who invested $30.7 million in the PPP chain and demanded the return of her money. When he failed to repay the sum, she sued his family members, contending that he placed his assets out of his creditors' reach via various asset purchases and transfers. Goh applied for bankruptcy on March 6, 2020, stating that he was unable to pay his debts. He was declared a bankrupt 13 days later, on March 19. Wang, represented by Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim and Grace Morgan from Drew & Napier, argued that Goh's bankruptcy application was intended to delay, hinder and defraud his creditors. On March 29, 2023, the High Court ruled that Goh had moved millions in assets to his family members with the intent to defraud his creditors. For the current case, Ministry of Law prosecutor Benjamin Yim told the court that on March 24 and April 29, 2020, an Official Assignee (OA) appointed to administer Goh's bankruptcy-related affairs gave the doctor written directions to submit information linked to such matters. The OA is a public servant who investigates the affairs of bankrupts and recovers their assets for distribution to creditors. Goh submitted the information on May 3 that year, but investigations later revealed that he made multiple omissions. Court documents stated that he failed to disclose the disposal of 760 shares in a company called 'Dr Michelle Goh' worth more than $306,000, and three shares in another firm called GSHKML worth nearly $1.4 million. Goh was involved in the non-disclosure of the disposal of insurance policies linked to over $154,000 in total. Yim said the doctor did not disclose the contents of a safe deposit box worth $700 and a bank account containing over $7,000. Goh failed to disclose the disposal of more than $1.2 million and US$900,015 (S$1.1 million) owed to him by a company called Singapore Yacht Charter. The prosecutor urged the court to sentence him to a fine of at least $43,000, adding: 'There is a strong public interest in ensuring that bankrupts take their obligations seriously and cooperate with their bankruptcy trustees when it comes to disclosure of assets. 'The offences committed by the accused impeded the orderly administration of his bankruptcy estate and the sentence to be meted out to him must be sufficient to deter others who might be tempted to follow in his footsteps.' Goh was represented by lawyers Chooi Jing Yen and Claire Chong. The team from the Chooi Jing Yen law firm told the court that they did not object to the prosecution's submission for a fine of at least $43,000. They said their client is a first-time offender and his daughter will pay the fine on his behalf. Goh still has multiple other pending charges under the Bankruptcy Act, and these will be dealt with later. - The Straits Times/ANN
Straits Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
$43k fine for undischarged bankrupt doctor who failed to disclose assets worth over $4m
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Goh Seng Heng will have to spend 22 weeks behind bars if the amount is not paid. SINGAPORE – An undischarged bankrupt doctor with a total debt of nearly $48 million owing to his creditors as at May 28 failed to disclose assets worth more than $4 million to the authorities. Goh Seng Heng, 70, who founded the PPP Laser Clinic chain, was fined $43,000 on July 9 after he pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Bankruptcy Act. He will have to spend 22 weeks behind bars if the amount is not paid. In 2019, he lost a lawsuit filed by businesswoman Wang Xiaopu , who had invested $30.7 million in the PPP chain and demanded the return of her investment. When he failed to repay the sum, she sued his family members, contending that he had placed his assets out of his creditors' reach via various asset purchases and transfers. Goh applied for bankruptcy on March 6, 2020, stating that he was unable to pay his debts. He was declared a bankrupt 13 days later, on March 19. Madam Wang, represented by Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim and Ms Grace Morgan from Drew & Napier, had argued that Goh's bankruptcy application was intended to delay, hinder and defraud his creditors. On March 29, 2023, the High Court ruled that Goh had moved millions in assets to his family members with the intent to defraud his creditors. For the current case, Ministry of Law prosecutor Benjamin Yim told the court that on March 24 and April 29, 2020, an Official Assignee (OA) appointed to administer Goh's bankruptcy-related affairs gave the doctor written directions to submit information linked to such matters. The OA is a public servant who investigates the affairs of bankrupts and recovers their assets for distribution to creditors. Goh submitted the information on May 3 that year, but investigations later revealed that he had made multiple omissions. Court documents stated that he had failed to disclose the disposal of 760 shares in a company called 'Dr Michelle Goh' worth more than $306,000, and three shares in another firm called GSHKML worth nearly $1.4million. Goh was also involved in the non-disclose of the disposal of insurance policies linked to over $154,000 in total. Mr Yim said the doctor did not disclose the contents of a safe deposit box worth $700 and a bank account containing over $7,000. Goh also failed to disclose the disposal of more than $1.2 million and US$900,015 (S$1.1 million) owed to him by a company called Singapore Yacht Charter. The prosecutor had urged the court to sentence him to a fine of at least $43,000, adding: 'There is a strong public interest in ensuring that bankrupts take their obligations seriously and cooperate with their bankruptcy trustees when it comes to disclosure of assets. 'The offences committed by the accused impeded the orderly administration of his bankruptcy estate and the sentence to be meted out to him must be sufficient to deter others who might be tempted to follow in his footsteps.' Goh was represented by lawyers Chooi Jing Yen and Claire Chong. The team from the Chooi Jing Yen law firm told the court that they did not object to the prosecution's submission for a fine of at least $43,000. They also said that their client is a first-time offender and his daughter will pay the fine on his behalf. Goh still has multiple other pending charges under the Bankruptcy Ac, and these will be dealt with at a later date.
