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HONG KONG - A HONG Kong court on Monday jailed the wife of the former chairman of Singapore's biggest charity for 22 months for money laundering, in the latest fallout in a long-running scandal.
On Shu Kio, wife of the former chairman of the National Kidney Foundation, Richard Yong, had previously admitted dealing in money she knew was from the proceeds of a crime.
The couple had whisked S$3.9 million out of Singapore to Hong Kong to avoid paying damages from another case and On had then tried to transfer the money to a Swiss bank account, the court heard.
Sentencing, Judge Andrew Chan said the fraud had not been a complicated one, and he had no doubt that On was aware of what she was doing.
'She came to Hong Kong simply for the purpose of committing this crime,' Mr Chan said in Hong Kong's District Court.
'The defendant derived direct, substantial benefit from this scheme, in that the family wealth (was) to be preserved.'
The 64-year-old, a former successful businesswoman in Singapore, was impassive in the dock as the judge handed down his sentence. Her husband was also in court, but made no comment.
The case was the latest fallout from a scandal about misusing the charity's funds that rocked the institution and its senior officers after it was first revealed in 2005.
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