After 24 long years on the run, a mastermind of counterfeit currency has finally been brought back to Singapore to face the music after police caught him last year in Malaysia.
71-year-old former fugitive Lim Goon Lor has since been sentenced to 11 years in prison for printing and trafficking fake money, The Straits Times reports.
He had been running a counterfeit currency printing empire with three other men out of a rented room in a shophouse off Dunearn Road before they were arrested in January 1991.
The accomplices who helped Lim traffic the fake currency have all served their time in prison in 1993 after being jailed for 12 months each. The man behind the whole operation however jumped his $150,000 bail and escaped across the borders to Malaysia.
He remained a fugitive in Malaysia, evading attention and capture for 24 years despite a $100,000 reward for his arrest. A tip-off to the police last year lead to his arrest, and he was later convicted in Petaling Jaya for immigration offences before being deported to Singapore.
In court, he faced 22 charges related to counterfeiting currency. The unrepresented man maintained his innocence throughout, stressing about his advanced age and health problems. He even highlighted his charitable contributions in Malaysia made out to orphanages, old folks’ homes and dialysis centres — of which the prosecution could not find any documentation of the contributions.
The judge however was not moved by his pleas, and noted that Lim played a leading role in the criminal enterprise, and showed no remorse over his actions.
Photo: 401(K) 2012 via Flickr
