Former Wildlife Reserves S’pore Employees Charged for Corruption

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) may have been rejoiceful following the successful pregnancy of Jia Jia, but it hasn’t always been a bed of roses.

For a while, it was dark and gloomy.

Though instead of implicating the organisation as a whole, it’s more of certain black sheep nestling within that really caused the situation to go… sour.

Former Wildlife Reserves S’pore Employees Charged for Corruption

Between 2005 and 2016, Barry Chong Peng Wee, 54, was king.

Over this period of time, he allegedly accepted bribes of more than S$2.4 million.

He also used S$15,900 of the sum to purchase a Rolex watch.

But as a Wise Old Man once said: “Crime pays, but only in the short run.”

Indeed, Chong is currently facing a whopping 107 charges of corruption, as well as one charge under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

Meanwhile, eleven other individuals have been linked to Chong’s alleged crimes, and are currently facing counts of corruption as well.

One of these, Chin Fong Yi, 44, had worked for WRS as well.

She’s said to have accepted bribes of more than S$50,000 between 2010 and 2015, and had also accepted a “Chanel” labelled wallet worth S$1,250.

Chin also use more than S$33,000 of the sum to purchase branded bags, shoes and jewellery between 2012 and 2015.

She currently faces 63 charges of corruption, as well as 16 for crimes under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

Ten Ring Gang

As for the other ten individuals, they’re ten men who allegedly bribed Chong, in a bid to further the interests of their companies.

Three hail from Shin Yong Construction, while two hail from KK. Iron Engineering.

The rest hail from Thiam Lee Tradings Construction, Katana Engineering, Hong Power Engineering, Ultron Construction and Geoscapes.

For corruption, offenders can face a jail term of up to five years, a fine of up to S$100,000 or both.

For violating the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, offenders can face a jail term of up to ten years, a fine of up to S$500,000 or both.

Other Instances

Unfortunately, cases of bribery here aren’t as rare as we would prefer.

Earlier this year, three former Shell employees were charged in court for corruption offences.

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CIPB) said that the men were accused of bribing employees of various surveying companies engaged by Shell to inspect vessels.

And on 24 Oct 2020, a 43-year-old Singaporean company director tried to bribe a Malaysian customs officer.

Thankfully, this particular attempt failed to work out.

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