Peter Tham Wing Fai (born in 1948
) is a
Singaporean
stockbroker
A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...
and the director of
Pan-Electric Industries. A failure by him to observe a
forward contract agreement that he negotiated with
Tan Koon Swan was responsible for the company's collapse in 1985.
Background
Tham left Singapore in 1984, before Pan-El collapsed. In April 1986, he was traced to
Seattle in the
United States by
FBI officials. He flew to
Tokyo, from where he was extradited back to Singapore, immediately arrested, and charged with 26 counts of helping
Tan Kok Liang Pan-Electric Industries was a Singapore-based company that specialised in marine salvage work, and had 71 subsidiary companies, including hotel and property interests, with a market capitalization of S$230 million. The company collapsed in Decembe ...
to make "fictitious sharetrading transactions." He was eventually sentenced to a total of 10 years in
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
—eight in 1986 for forging Pan-Electric share certificates and two in 1988 for criminal breach of trust. In February 1991, he was declared a
bankrupt for owing
S$25 million to various parties.
Tham was released from jail early, in 1992.
He divorced his wife, Joyce Aw, whom he had married in 1973, and married Kok Mei Yee in 1995.
In 1998, he was in trouble with the law again after Kok alleged that he had beaten her. She also informed the
Official Assignee that although he was still officially
bankrupt, he had been keeping a collection of antique
longcase clocks and Chinese pottery with a total value of S$400,000 in their
Peck Hay Road apartment, without declaring them to the Official Assignee as was required by law. Although his wife later withdrew the private summons charge of assault, he was still being investigated for hiding personal assets and in May 2000, he was charged with hiding about S$1.7 million in cash, three cars and other items from the authorities.
The trial was adjourned but when the case was next mentioned in September 2000, Tham's lawyer could not contact him and a
warrant of arrest
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property.
Canada
Arrest warrants are issued by a ju ...
was issued for Tham.
Tham was later traced to the
Indonesian island of
Batam, but has since disappeared again.
In 2004, his story was re-enacted on an episode of
MediaCorp's ''
Missing
Missing or The Missing may refer to:
Film
* ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young
* ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras
* ''Missing'' (2007 film) (''Vermist''), a Bel ...
'' television series.
See also
*
List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
This is a list of fugitives from justice, notable people who disappeared or evaded capture while being sought by law enforcement agencies in connection with a crime, and who are currently sought or were sought for the duration of their presume ...
References
1948 births
Date of birth missing (living people)
Fugitives
Fugitive financiers
Fugitives wanted by Singapore
Prisoners and detainees of Singapore
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Singaporean criminals
Singaporean people of Cantonese descent
Singaporean prisoners and detainees
Stockbrokers
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