Shell heist: Man who received up to $2.3m for role in crime gets more than 16 years’ jail
A man who worked with his then colleagues at oil giant Shell to misappropriate gas oil worth more than US$93 million (S$127 million, according to court documents) was on Thursday sentenced to 16 years and three months’ jail.
Cai Zhi Zhong, now 39, committed the offences from August 2014 to January 2018 when he was a process technician at the firm, receiving between US$1.3 million and US$1.6 million.
Before handing down the sentence, District Judge Shawn Ho noted that the offences were premeditated, planned and involved a transnational element.
In September, Cai pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including criminal breach of trust and dealing with the benefits of criminal activities.
Gas oil is refined crude oil, often used as fuel and as an alternative to diesel in some countries.
One of the masterminds of the heist, Juandi Pungot, 45, was jailed for 29 years in March for siphoning nearly $128 million worth of gas oil. He was the first key player to be dealt with for his role in the conspiracy, and had been given one of the longest prison terms for a commercial crime
Several offenders linked to the case, including Sadagopan Premnath, then 40, and Quek Rong Hong, then 38, were also dealt with in court.
The cases involving several others are still pending.
Cai joined Shell in 2008 and, six years later, Juandi recruited him for the misappropriation.
Applying his in-depth knowledge of the panel and pipeline network, Cai identified tanks from which gas oil could be misappropriated.
He used methods such as adjusting flow rates to allow for the fuel to be siphoned off without creating suspicious drops in tank levels.
He also assisted in setting up WhatsApp message groups for coordination among the conspirators.
Cai earned up to US$1.6 million (S$2.3 million) from his offences.
He used a portion of the money to pay for items such as a condominium unit at Vue 8 Residence in Pasir Ris Heights and an Audi A3 car.
On Aug 1, 2017, a Shell representative made a police report and Cai was arrested on Jan 8, 2018.
On Thursday, the prosecution urged the court to sentence him to 17 years and four months’ jail, stressing that the case involved a massive amount of gas oil worth millions of dollars.
Defence lawyer Josephine Chee, however, pleaded for her client to be given not more than 15 years’ jail.
She said Cai was not involved in all key aspects of the operation and had taken instructions from more senior members of the conspiracy, including Juandi.
Cai was offered bail of $550,000 and is expected to surrender at the State Courts on Dec 15 to begin his sentence.
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