A director of a firm which deals with the printing of cardboard packages was sentenced to 30 months' jail after cheating a bank of more than $2 million in loans between 2016 and 2018.

Chong Teng Siow, 61, pleaded guilty yesterday to eight counts of engaging in a conspiracy to cheat The Bank of East Asia.

Another 20 similar charges were taken into consideration by District Judge Ong Luan Tze during sentencing.

Court documents state that Chong was the managing director of Jit Sheng Graphic & Paper Manufacturing at the time of his offences. The company is now in liquidation, according to an online search.

Jit Sheng and The Bank of East Asia had an agreement where the company could receive loans of up to 95 per cent of amounts owed to it by its customers based on invoices it submitted to the bank, capped at $500,000.

The court heard that between 2016 and 2018, the company incurred losses due to poor business, financial mismanagement and Chong's health problems.

In order to keep Jit Sheng's operations running, Chong instructed Ms Doreen Toh Bee Ghuan, an administrative assistant at the company, to prepare fictitious invoices on multiple occasions between 2016 and 2018.

These invoices purportedly showed that Jit Sheng had engaged in business transactions with various other firms - such as Sats Catering and Emicakes - for the printing of customised cardboard box packaging. They also falsely stated that the firms had to repay Jit Sheng on "a credit payment term basis".

The invoices were used to deceive the bank into disbursing credit facilities to the company.

When forging some of the invoices, Ms Toh would use a photocopied version of the respective firm's company stamp, which she had obtained from documents used in genuine transactions between Jit Sheng and the firms.

Chong or Ms Toh would also sign on these invoices to make them appear genuine.

The duo's actions led the bank to issue more than $2 million in credit facilities to Jit Sheng.

The court heard that Chong has made restitution of nearly $1.6 million, and that he had voluntarily surrendered himself to the police even though the bank did not make a police report.

District Judge Ong later granted his request to defer his jail term to Nov 9, so that he can go for a medical appointment next week to collect medication for his existing health issues.