Chief Justice to decide on Yang Yin’s bail this morning

SINGAPORE — Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon will decide this morning (Nov 11) on the matter of bail granted by the State Courts to former tour guide Yang Yin, 40, who is facing 331 charges for falsification of his company’s accounts. Prosecutors yesterday argued for the High Court to reverse District Judge Eddy Tham’s decision last week to allow bail at S$150,000 with one surety.

Deputy chief prosecutor Tan Ken Hwee yesterday contended that the district judge was palpably wrong and had disregarded that Yang, a China national lacking roots in Singapore, was a high flight risk. The proposed bail arrangements were perverse in that they appeared to approve of an arrangement where a Singaporean bailor would put up bail money furnished to her by Yang’s parents, he said. 

It was said last week that Yang had in 2010 allegedly transferred S$500,120 out of widow Madam Chung Khin Chun’s account to his father’s bank account in China. When the district judge said he was allowing bail, the prosecution urged the court to set the bail at S$800,000 with four Singaporean sureties. Yesterday, Mr Tan argued that if CJ Menon were to grant bail, all money should come from the bailors.

However, Yang’s lawyer Wee Pan Lee said the prosecution, in asking for the court not to offer bail and for no plea to be taken by Yang on his charges, was asking for Yang to be incarcerated indefinitely. This was indefensible, as Yang was not being charged with a capital offence, nor would his release endanger the public, argued Mr Wee. 

Mr Wee said he could have chosen not to disclose that the bail money was coming from Yang’s parents, but had done so for the sake of transparency. 

Yang Yin is also engaged in a civil lawsuit with the niece of Mdm Chung over control of the latter’s assets.