2 Ex-NParks Directors Charged for Accepting Bribes in Form of Hotel Stays & Transport Services

On Tuesday (6 Apr), two ex-National Parks Board (NParks) directors were charged with corruption.

Teva Raj Palaniasamy, 69, was a senior director of the statutory board’s municipal landscapes division. He faces two charges of accepting and obtaining gratification.

The other man, 51-year-old Johnny Go Kau Chai, was a director in the same division and faces one charge.

According to CNA, both men had accepted a bribe in the form of a hotel stay worth S$258.42 when they were in Macau in 2018. It is not known why they were overseas.

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) noted that the bribe was “an inducement to advance the business interest of the giver’s company with NParks”.

Court documents revealed that construction firm Ho Eng Huat’s general manager, Zulfiqah Abdullah, had bribed them in relation to contracts or future proposals for contracts.

In addition, Teva also had accepted bribes from director Ong Eng Soon of landscaping firm Soon Sin Contracts on six separate incidents from 2018 to 2020. He had acquired them in the form of “transport services” which were again to forward the company’s business interest with NParks.

Teva said that he plans to plead guilty and will return to court on 21 May. Go will also be back in court on 4 May.

Both men are currently out on a S$5,000 bail.

When The Straits Times had reached out to NParks for their views, the board stated, “As the matter is before the courts, it is not appropriate for [us] to comment.”

Those convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000, or sentenced to up to five years’ jail, or both.

Moreover, as Teva and Go’s charges were related to matters or contracts with the government or a public body, they could be fined up to S$100,000, or jailed up to seven years, or both.

The CIPB emphasised that Singapore has no tolerance for corruption, including corrupt acts performed overseas.

Ex-SMU Associate Director Charged for Accepting S$472,000 Worth of Bribes

In similar news, a former Singapore Management University (SMU) associate director has been charged in court for the acceptance of corrupt payments.

Or in other words, bribery.

In total, Christopher Tan Toh Nghee, 43, was said to have accepted S$472,000 worth of bribes—a figure accumulated over two years, more than 50 occasions and from three different directors.

This reportedly lasted from August 2017 to November 2019.

Similarly, the payments were made in hopes of convincing Tan to “advance the business interest of their companies with the university”.

A recurring theme, huh?

The payers in question are the director of International Alliance Marketing Kenneth Lum Hsien Loong, director of CJ Synergy Cher Kheng Than and the managing director of Assetualize Jeffery Long Chee Kin.

All four men are due to return to court on 20 April 2021.

“Companies are strongly advised to put in place robust procedures in areas such as procurement and internal audit to prevent falling victim to corrupt acts by their employees,” warned CPIB.

Feature Image: Facebook (NParks)