Antique dealer admits to selling customer’s Qing Dynasty vase to pay off his debts

SINGAPORE: An antique dealer pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Jan 28) to selling a customer’s Qing Dynasty vase to pay off his debts and trading a real painting for a fake one. 

Kuok Chio, 42, who owns the commercial antique business Chinese Art Centre, pleaded guilty to acquiring the benefits of criminal conduct, criminal breach of trust and cheating. 

In October 2023, Kuok told the owner of the vase that he was travelling to Hong Kong and asked if the owner would let him bring along two pieces from his collection for valuation purposes. 

A few days prior, Kuok had visited the location where the victim kept his antique collection with the intention of taking pictures of the collection. He claimed at the time that there was a group of buyers that was interested in purchasing items from the victim’s collection. 

The victim’s wife felt uncomfortable with letting the accused handle the potential sale, and the victim told Kuok that he was not looking to sell his collection. 

On Oct 25, 2023, the victim agreed to let Kuok bring one vase to Hong Kong to have it valued – a "blue and white garlic-head vase" made during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, who ruled Qing Dynasty China from 1735 to 1796. 

The vase was worth at least HK$1,800,000, or about S$315,280 (US$233,000 currently), according to court documents. 

The victim told Kuok that he was not to sell the vase without his consent and Kuok agreed. Kuok also issued a post-dated cheque for S$50,000 from his company account to the victim as collateral. 

At the time Kuok was in debt of more than S$60,000, and his business had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He decided to sell the vase to pay off his debts. 

Kuok contacted an antique dealer that same evening and offered the vase for sale. The dealer valued the vase at S$150,000 and Kuok sold it to him, receiving the payment for it in cash. 

He deposited S$120,000 into two bank accounts and used the money in one of them to pay off his debts. The remaining S$30,000 remains unaccounted for. 

DAMAGED PAINTING AFTER ONLINE TUTORIAL

Kuok’s deceit with the painting began in June 2021, when he came across the Chinese calligraphy work by Singaporean artist Lim Tze Peng hanging on a wall in the victim’s home. 

The victim had bought the painting from an art dealer for S$18,000. Kuok pointed out that there were some stain marks on the painting, and upon his advice, the victim agreed to let him bring the painting for professional cleaning. 

Kuok charged the victim S$2,700 for cleaning and transportation costs, and the restored painting was delivered to the victim in January 2022. 

Kuok brought a white PVC pipe to the victim’s office and told him that the painting was in the pipe. He warned the victim not to open the pipe as it contained nitrogen gas, which would help to preserve the painting. 

The victim did not open the pipe and left it in his office. Almost two years later in December 2023, when the victim was confronting Kuok about the vase at his office, he noticed a painting that had similar stains to the one he owned. 

When he asked Kuok about it, the latter claimed that it was a different painting, and the victim did not pursue the matter as he was focused on the vase. 

The deceit came to light in June 2024, when the victim was moving house and decided to reframe the painting and hang it up. 

He brought the PVC pipe to an art dealer’s office, where the staff told him that the painting inside was a fake. 

It turned out that Kuok had accidentally damaged the painting while attempting to clean it himself because he had followed an online video tutorial to clean it. 

He prepared the chemical mixture for the cleaning incorrectly and caused some of its ink to smudge. 

Kuok did not know how to explain the damage to the complainant, and decided to return a fake painting to him – a copy of the painting printed from a photo that he took before he started the cleaning process. 

On Tuesday, the defence said in court that Kuok needed more time to raise the quantum needed to make restitution to the victim, and asked for his sentencing to be adjourned. 

The penalty for acquiring benefits from criminal conduct is up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to S$500,000, or both. 

For criminal breach of trust, Kuok faces up to seven years in jail, a fine, or both. For cheating, he could face up to three years in jail, a fine, or both.