Car dealer cheated man into transferring Porsche ownership for good COE renewal rates

SINGAPORE: A car dealer cheated a customer into transferring the ownership of his Porsche, promising good renewal rates for his Certificate of Entitlement (COE), but used the car to secure a S$100,000 (US$74,000) loan for his own use instead.

The man also pocketed more than S$60,000 from the sale of another customer's Toyota.

Tor Kar Wai, a 53-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to three years' jail on Tuesday (Jul 23) for his crimes.

He pleaded guilty to a charge each of cheating and criminal breach of trust as an agent, with another three charges taken into consideration.

THE PORSCHE

The court heard that Tor was a managing director and car dealer under Atlantic Automobile at the time.

He had previously sold a Porsche Panamera to a woman.

In January 2021, the woman's husband approached Tor to renew the COE for the Porsche. 

Tor said he would renew the COE at "a good rate" if the ownership of the car was first transferred to Atlantic Automobile.

He said the ownership would be transferred back to the man's wife after the COE was renewed, and that his wife could still drive the Porsche in the meantime.

The man agreed and had his wife transfer the ownership of the car to Atlantic Automobile. At the time, the Porsche was worth about S$111,000.

After taking over ownership of the Porsche, Tor used it to secure a S$100,000 loan from car finance and loan company Dickson Capital to Atlantic Automobile, keeping the victim and his wife in the dark.

Tor used a forged purchase receipt for the Porsche with the woman's signature from another document she had previously signed in order to prove ownership of the Porsche to Dickson Capital.

Instead of redeeming the loan, Tor spent the funds he had to redeem other vehicles that he had put up as security for other loans.

He later defaulted on the loan and Dickson Capital repossessed the Porsche from the victim's wife in September 2021.

To recover the car, the victim paid Tor's outstanding debt, suffering a loss of S$69,912.64.

In February 2022, Tor agreed to help another woman buy a Lexus and sell her Toyota Harrier to set off the Lexus' purchase price.

He sold the Toyota that same month, receiving S$64,652 from the buyer. He handed the Lexus to the woman, who transferred the Toyota to the buyer.

However, Tor used the money he had received from the sale of the Toyota to repay his personal debt and gamble at casinos.

Because the Lexus' owner had not been paid, he did not transfer ownership to the woman, instead using his spare key to recover the Lexus.

In the end, the woman did not get the Lexus. Instead, she lost the S$64,652 from the sale of her Toyota.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tung Shou Pin sought 38 to 48 months' jail for Tor, saying he has a dated past conviction in 2005 for criminal breach of trust, which was rendered spent in 2015.

Mr Tung said Tor had not only deliberately deceived the first victim into believing that the Porsche ownership would be returned, he also abused his position as a car dealer to do so.

The victim "suffered an immense loss" as he had to pay Tor's outstanding debt to save the Porsche from being sold at auction, said Mr Tung.

LOST MONEY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: DEFENCE

Defence lawyer Mr Wee Hong Shern asked for a sentence of around 20 months' jail instead.

He said the jail term sought by the prosecution was "crushing" and has devastated his client and his family, with his wife contemplating a divorce.

Mr Wee said his client worked different jobs growing up - including being a salesman, a property agent and a car salesman.

After being made bankrupt in 1997, Tor worked hard and excelled at sales, managing to complete his bankruptcy payments and being discharged as a bankrupt a decade later, said Mr Wee.

Tor lost half a million dollars from venturing into the parallel import business, which Mr Wee called "an extremely bad decision due to COE fluctuations and storage considerations".

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown was "the slow death knell" of Tor's company, as people were not interested in buying or renting cars, said Mr Wee.

He said Tor recalled the SARS pandemic had lasted for only a few months and borrowed money to pay for car storage and upkeep, hoping he could tide by the pandemic.

However, his debts increased and he became "increasingly desperate to find the finances necessary to keep his company afloat", leading to him committing the offences, said Mr Wee.

He said Tor has a daughter and two stepsons with his wife, who has been unable to get a job after being retrenched.

Tor was diagnosed with depression in 2021 and having to serve a sentence of three to four years will devastate him, said Mr Wee.

In sentencing, District Judge Lim Tse Haw said the total amount misappropriated including the charges taken into consideration was more than S$100,000, with no restitution made.

Criminal breach of trust as an agent is the most aggravated form of criminal breach of trust offences, with jail terms of up to 20 years, said Judge Lim.

He said Tor's conduct over the Porsche was "truly reprehensible", with the victim enduring trauma by having the car suddenly towed away. 

He allowed Tor to begin his jail term next week, to wrap up his family matters.