(Adds details, background)
SINGAPORE, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The captain of a Vietnamese
oil tanker has been jailed for over five years in Singapore for
his role in a scheme that saw around $150 million of oil stolen
from Shell's biggest refinery over several years.
Doan Xuan Than, 47, was sentenced to 66 months in prison on
Thursday, a spokesman for the State Courts of Singapore said,
becoming the second person jailed in a case that also involves
former employees of Royal Dutch Shell who allegedly
conspired to siphon oil from the firm's Singapore refinery.
The theft, which unfolded in the world's biggest ship
refuelling hub and Southeast Asia's petroleum refining hub,
shone a spotlight on an illegal oil trade worth tens of billions
of dollars worldwide. https://reut.rs/34ArdP6
Than's sentencing comes almost two years after Singaporean
police raids that led to over a dozen arrests for alleged
offences dating back to 2014 in which around 340,000 tonnes of
oil were filched from Shell's refinery, which sits on an islet
south of Singapore's mainland.
Charge sheets seen by Reuters allege that Than was involved
in the theft of gasoil from the Pulau Bukom refinery aboard
vessels MT Gaea and Prime Sun on 10 occasions in 2016 and 2017.
Than could not be reached for comment.
Another Vietnamese national was jailed for 2-1/2-years in
July for related offences, local newspaper Straits Times
reported.
Besides the former Shell employees, there have been related
charges filed against former employees of one of Singapore's
biggest marine fuel suppliers, Sentek Marine & Trading Pte Ltd;
a Singaporean who worked for Intertek, a British-listed
company specializing in quality and quantity assurance,
including for fuel products; and other Vietnamese nationals who
allegedly helped receive stolen property aboard ships.
Shell has previously said it was "disappointed" by what it
uncovered at Pulau Bukom, was working closely with authorities
and had implemented "measures to prevent this from happening
again".
(Reporting by John Geddie; Editing by Christopher Cushing and
Susan Fenton)
