Two Sentenced For Corrupt Scheme Involving Food Supplies

On 8 November 2021, Edmund Chan Yong Ann (“Chan”) (曾荣安), 45-year-old male Singaporean), director of Orchard Hills Pte Ltd (“OHPL”) at the material time, was sentenced to a fine of S$53,300 for giving bribes. Hoe Kim Tick (“Hoe”) (38-year-old male Malaysian National), the head chef of Omakase Burger Pte Ltd (“Omakase”) at the material time, was earlier fined S$35,000 on 14 June 2018, and ordered to pay a penalty of S$7,476 for receiving the bribes from Chan.

2. As head chef of Omakase, Hoe was responsible for managing kitchen inventory and ordering ingredients from food suppliers. Investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) revealed that sometime in 2014, Chan introduced his truffle oil products to Hoe in an endeavour to become Omakase’s truffle oil supplier. Chan proposed to Hoe that he would get a “5% rebate” as a reward for every bottle of truffle oil Omakase ordered from OHPL. Hoe agreed to Chan’s corrupt proposal. This “5% rebate” proposal was subsequently amended to a monthly payment of S$300 to Hoe as a reward for Omakase’s purchase of truffle oil from OHPL.

3. Between February 2015 and January 2017, pursuant to Chan and Hoe’s agreement, Chan made 24 payments of S$300 per month, totalling S$7,200, to Hoe. In addition, over the material period, Chan gave Hoe other gratification such as two red packets totalling S$268, Martell liquor and branded items such as a Bottega Venetta wallet and a Louis Vuitton belt as a reward for Omakase’s purchase of truffle oil from OHPL. Both Chan and Hoe were charged with 30 counts of offences under Section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act on 11 October 2017.

4. Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years or to both.

5. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) looks into all corruption complaints and reports, including anonymous ones, and can be reached via the following channels:

a) Lodge an e-Complaint;
b) Email us at report@cpib.gov.sg ↗ (opens in new tab);
c) Call the Duty Officer at 1800-376-0000; or
d) Write to us at the CPIB Headquarters @ 2 Lengkok Bahru, S159047.

6. Where possible, the report should include the following information:

a) Where, when and how the alleged corrupt act happened?
b) Who was involved and what were their roles?
c) What was the bribe given and the favour shown?

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau