Teo had the right to make adjustments to the allowance system, could determine the name of the crew member who was to be paid, the amount payable and the receiving bank account number.
[3] Teo was able to exploit this system by using the names of crew members who did not fly on various flights to make false claims and channeled the payments to his own bank accounts.
This suspicious error prompted a report to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), who arrested Teo on the same day the detection was made.
[16] The prosecution, consisting of former CAD director Lawrence Ang and his colleague Jeanne Lee from the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), submitted that the mitigating factors behind Teo's case were scant, as the misappropriation of money took place daily over a long period of 13 years and the amount he took was massive.
They argued that Teo spent a majority of the misappropriated funds on an expensive and high-quality lifestyle, and may have hidden some of the stolen fortune for future spending in the later part of his life.
As for the defence, Teo's lawyer Kevin De Souza submitted a mitigation plea that Teo committed the offences out of dissatisfaction towards his employers who looked down on him due to his educational background, and this caused him to not be able to get a promotion to a managerial position despite his diligence, knowledge and efficiency in the job, and they never considered his opinion in rectifying the discovered flaws of the payment system.
He also claimed that he felt sorry towards his wife for manipulating her regarding the bank account and wealth they obtained, as well as towards his superiors for the financial losses suffered by SIA.
His status as a first-time offender and timely plea of guilt, in addition to the full cooperation with the authorities were also cited as mitigating factors of the case.
[17] On 30 June 2000, the trial judge, Judicial Commissioner (JC) Tay Yong Kwang of the High Court decided to sentence 47-year-old Teo Cheng Kiat to a total of 24 years’ imprisonment.
In total, Teo was to serve 24 years in prison, with effect from the date of his arrest, though the sentence may possibly be reduced by one-third due to good behaviour.
In the aftermath of the case, Teo Cheng Kiat's wife was charged in court in July 2001 for dishonestly receiving stolen property - mainly some of the misappropriated funds which her husband had given her.
Merely four years later, Teo's case was surpassed by Chia Teck Leng, who swindled a total of $117 million from four foreign major banks to feed his gambling addiction during his time as a financial manager at Asia Pacific Breweries (APB).