SINGAPORE: The trial of a Singapore-registered shipping company implicated in a shipment of arms bound for North Korea began on Monday (Aug 3) in the State Courts.
Chinpo Shipping Company allegedly transferred US$72,000 (S$99,000) to Panama shipping agent C B Fenton and Co on Jul 8, 2013, for a vessel carrying weapons to travel from Cuba to North Korea.
In court on Monday, the prosecution alleged that Chinpo agreed to make the payment on behalf of North Korean entity Ocean Maritime Management for the vessel Chong Chon Gang to travel through Panama Canal.
This breaches United Nations sanctions, which restrict arms trading with North Korea due to its nuclear programme. If found guilty, Chinpo could be fined up to S$1 million.
The weapons involved included two MiG-21 jet fighters, anti-tank rockets, and surface-to-air missile systems and their components, which North Korea "is known to use… specifically at nuclear missile sites”, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sandy Baggett.
Dr Graham Ong-Webb, the prosecution's first expert witness, told the court that the weapons hidden on board Chong Chon Gang were “not nuclear components in themselves”, but they would still “have a bearing on North Korea’s nuclear weapons capability”.
The arms would contribute to “an air defence system to protect nuclear weapons on the ground”, Dr Ong-Webb explained.
Chinpo’s lawyer, Mr Edmond Pereira, said that the arms, specifically the two jet fighters recovered, were “vintage” and “obsolete" as they were made between 1950s and 1970s. Old equipment would not help North Korea “advance their technical know-how”, he added. Mr Pereira also noted that the type of aircraft was specifically used for training, not military purposes.
Chinpo also faces a second charge of carrying on a remittance business without a valid licence between Apr 2, 2009 and Jul 3, 2013. Chinpo allegedly performed 605 remittances totalling more than US$40 million (S$55 million).
Mr Lim Cheng Wah, a former employee of Tonghae Shipping Agency, told the court that he sometimes handled remittance payments for Tonghae.
According to court documents, Tonghae and Chinpo were family businesses, sharing the same premises and employees. There is no substantive separation between the companies, which used Tonghae’s email account for communications with North Korean entities, and Chinpo’s bank account for outward remittances, court documents said.
Mr Lim said that the ship’s name was not mentioned in remittance emails, because Tonghae did not want payments to be blocked or delayed.
Mr Ng Sheng, a Deputy Director of the banking department at Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), explained to the court that all financial institutions, including remittance businesses, are required to be licensed by MAS. This is to require companies to exercise due diligence when dealing with customers, and to guard against money laundering, the prosecution said.
Mr Ng told the court that Chinpo never applied for a remittance licence.
For carrying on a remittance business without a licence, Chinpo could be fined up to S$100,000.
The trial continues.
- CNA/vc