Pillai’s aide sentenced to jail

Singapore, April 24: Antony Joseph, former associate of the late Rajan Pillai, was sentenced on Friday to four years jail for misappropriati...

Singapore, April 24: Antony Joseph, former associate of the late Rajan Pillai, was sentenced on Friday to four years jail for misappropriating $ 4.3 million from Britannia Industries, the company jointly-owned by Pillai.

This is a mitigation of the 10 years’ jail term or even life imprisonment which he could have been sentenced to. The 43-year old chartered accountant had pleaded guilty to the charge and admitted he had authorised the release of the company’s funds to pay debt incurred by two of Pillai’s cashew-trading firms.

Joseph’s lawyer sought a mitigation of the sentence on the grounds that he had not personally benefitted from the fraud. According to the defence counsel, he had merely been carrying out Pillai’s orders, and had indeed even advised his boss to rectify the irregularities, which was eventually done.

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Early this year, the chartered accountant had been granted a 50 per cent reduction in the original S$2 million bail, but was not able to fork out even the reduced amount. Joseph had beena prosecution witness when he absconded in March 1995, violating court summons subsequently issued for his reappearance in court. This was the argument put forward by the prosecution against a reduction in bail.

The former company secretary of Britannia Industries, and a permanent resident of Singapore, had returned to the city state under the impression there was no arrest warrant against him. “The warrant was issued by the court but not executed,” was the plaint put forward by the lawyer.

Joseph’s wife had accompanied him to Singapore on December 26, when he was nabbed at Changi airport.

On his arrest, the 43-year old Joseph was charged with 22 counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) in connection with the Rajan Pillai case. The late Rajan Pillai, joint owner of Britannia Industries, was convicted by a Singapore court in April 1995 on 24 counts of criminal breach of trust and conspiracy. He fled to India, only to be arrested, and died three months later while in custody.

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Following Pillai’s death,and recovery of dues by the prosecution through the auctioning of the `biscuit king’s’ assets in Singapore, the case was deemed to be closed. But, it was given a new lease of life with the reappearance of Antony Joseph.