Two Former Employees Of Wildlife Reserves Singapore And Ten Other Individuals Charged For Alleged Corruption Involving More than S$2.4 Million

On 10 September 2021, Chong Peng Wee Barry @ Danial Chong (“Barry”, 54-year old male Singaporean), a former employee of Wildlife Reserves Singapore (“WRS”), will be charged in Court for allegedly obtaining gratifications, amounting to more than S$2.4 million, from different individuals between 2005 and 2016. These gratifications were obtained as rewards for advancing the business interests of various companies with WRS. For his actions, Barry will face 107 charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

2. On 16 October 2013, Barry had allegedly used about S$15,900 of bribes he had corruptly obtained to pay for a Rolex watch. Consequently, Barry will face one additional charge for an offence under Section 47(1)(b) and punishable under Section 47(6)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

3. 11 other individuals will also be correspondingly charged in connection to Barry’s alleged offences. Their alleged offences are as follows:

a) Chin Fong Yi (“Chin”) (陳芳儀, 44-year-old female Singaporean), employee of WRS at the material time:

i. Between 2010 and 2015, Chin had allegedly obtained gratifications, totalling more than S$50,000, from Toh Say Yong and Too Say Kiong on various occasions as rewards for not reporting that Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd was giving gratifications to Barry. In 2014, Chin had also allegedly obtained gratifications, in the form of a “Chanel” labelled wallet which cost S$1,250, from Toh Yong Soon, as rewards for exercising leniency in the supervision of works done by Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd in respect of a project at WRS. For her actions, Chin will face 63 charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

ii. Between 2012 and 2015, Chin had allegedly used more than S$33,000 of bribes she had corruptly obtained to pay for branded bags, shoes and jewellery on various occasions. Consequently, Chin will face 16 charges for offences under Section 47(1)(b) and punishable under Section 47(6)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

b) Toh Say Yong (杜世榮, 66-year-old male Singaporean), Director of Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd at the material time:

i. Between 2005 and 2016, Toh Say Yong had allegedly conspired with Too Say Kiong and Toh Yong Soon on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$611,000, to Barry as rewards for advancing the business interests of Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd with WRS. For his actions, Toh Say Yong will face 27 charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

ii. Between 2010 and 2015, Toh Say Yong had allegedly conspired with Too Say Kiong on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$50,000 to Chin Fong Yi as rewards for not reporting that Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd was giving gratifications to Barry. For his actions, Toh Say Yong will face 62 additional charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

c) Too Say Kiong (“Too”) (杜世强, 55-year-old male Singaporean), Foreman of Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd at the material time:

i. Between 2005 and 2015, Too had allegedly conspired with Toh Say Yong, Chong Chee Wai and Lim Thiam Poh, as well as Toh Yong Soon and Koh Kian Hee on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$709,000 to Barry as rewards for advancing the business interests of Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd, Katana Engineering, Thiam Lee Tradings Construction, Geoscapes Pte Ltd and KKS Engineering Pte Ltd with WRS. For his actions, Too Say Kiong will face 52 charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

ii. Between 2010 and 2015, Too had allegedly conspired with Toh Say Yong on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$50,000, to Chin Fong Yi as rewards for not reporting that Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd was giving gratifications to Barry. For his actions, Too Say Kiong will face 62 additional charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

d) Toh Yong Soon (杜永顺, 36-year-old male Singaporean), Project Manager of Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd at the material time:

i. Between 2015 and 2016, Toh Yong Soon had allegedly conspired with Toh Say Yong, Koh Kian Hee, Too Say Kiong, Tan Chuan Hong, Wong Eng Kuen, To Chai Kiat and Chong Yun Chia on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$1.8 million, to Barry as rewards for advancing the business interests of Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd, Geoscapes Pte Ltd, KKS Engineering Pte Ltd, Hong Power Engineering, Ultron Construction Pte Ltd and KK. Iron Engineering Pte Ltd with WRS. For his actions, Toh Yong Soon will face 58 charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

ii. In 2014, Toh Yong Soon had allegedly given gratification, in the form of a “Chanel” labelled wallet which cost S$1,250, to Chin Fong Yi as rewards for exercising leniency in the supervision of work done by Shin Yong Construction Pte Ltd in respect of a project at WRS. For his action, Toh Yong Soon will face an additional charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

e) Lim Thiam Poh (“Lim”) (63-year-old male Singaporean), Owner of Thiam Lee Tradings Construction at the material time:

i. In 2014 and 2015, Lim had allegedly conspired with Too Say Kiong on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling about S$127,000, to Barry as rewards for advancing the business interests of Thiam Lee Tradings Construction with WRS. For his actions, Lim will face 15 charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

f) Chong Chee Wai ( 張子偉 , 45-year-old male Malaysian), Owner of Katana Engineering at the material time:

i. In 2014 and 2015, Chong Chee Wai had allegedly conspired with Too Say Kiong on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$235,000, to Barry as rewards for advancing the business interests of Katana Engineering with WRS. For his actions, Chong Chee Wai will face 20 charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

g) Koh Kian Hee (“Koh”) ( 许建喜 , 39-year-old male Singaporean), Director of Geoscapes Pte Ltd at the material time:

i. In 2015 and 2016, Koh had allegedly conspired with Toh Yong Soon, Too Say Kiong, To Chai Kiat and Chong Yun Chia on various occasions, to give gratification totalling more than S$1 million, to Barry, as rewards for advancing the business interests of Geoscapes Pte Ltd, KKS Engineering Pte Ltd and KK. Iron Engineering Pte Ltd with WRS. For his actions, Koh will face 31 charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

ii. In 2016, Koh had allegedly given gratifications to Chong Yun Chia and 2 others on various occasions as inducements for them to create fictitious invoices. For his actions, Koh will face 22 charges for offences punishable under Section 5(b)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

h) Tan Chuan Hong (“Tan”) (陈全丰, 45-year-old male Singaporean), Director of Hong Power Engineering Pte Ltd at the material time:

i. In 2016, Tan had allegedly conspired with Toh Yong Soon on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$324,000, to Barry as rewards for advancing the business interests of Hong Power Engineering Pte Ltd with WRS. For his actions, Tan will face eight charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

i) Wong Eng Kuen (“Wong”) (王音焜, 42-year-old male Singaporean), Director of Ultron Construction Pte Ltd at the material time:

i. In 2016, Wong had allegedly conspired with Toh Yong Soon on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$192,000, as rewards for advancing the business interests of Ultron Construction Pte Ltd with WRS. For his actions, Wong will face six charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

j) To Chai Kiat (“To”) (涂財吉, 47-year-old male Malaysian), Director of KK. Iron Engineering Pte Ltd at the material time:

i. In 2015 and 2016, To allegedly conspired with Toh Yong Soon, Koh Kian Hee and Chong Yun Chia on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$126,000, to Barry as rewards for advancing the business interests of KK. Iron Engineering Pte Ltd with WRS. For his actions, To will face six charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

k) Chong Yun Chia (张运嘉, 37-year-old male Malaysian), Project Manager of KK. Iron Engineering Pte Ltd and Director of Onesta Pte Ltd at the material time:

i. In 2016, Chong Yun Chia had allegedly conspired with To Chai Kiat, Toh Yong Soon and Koh Kian Hee on various occasions to give gratifications, totalling more than S$88,000, to Barry as rewards for advancing the business interests of KK. Iron Engineering Pte Ltd with WRS. For his actions, Chong Yun Chia will face four charges for offences punishable under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

ii. In 2016, Chong Yun Chia had also allegedly received gratifications on various occasions, totalling more than S$92,000, from Koh Kian Hee as an inducement for creating fictitious invoices issued by Onesta Pte Ltd. For his actions, Chong Yun Chia will face additional 20 charges for offences punishable under Section 5(a)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

4. Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption and other criminal activities. Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to 5 years or to both. Any person convicted of an offence under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act can be fined up to S$500,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years or to both.

5. 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. Guidance for companies on measures to prevent corruption can be found in PACT: A Practical Anti-Corruption Guide for Businesses in Singapore, which is available on CPIB’s website. Companies are also strongly encouraged to obtain certification under the Singapore Standard (SS) ISO 37001 – Anti-Bribery Management Systems, which is designed to help companies implement or enhance an anti-bribery management system to reduce corporate risk and costs related to bribery.

Reference Links:

• PACT: A Practical Anti-Corruption Guide for Businesses in Singapore
  

• SS ISO 37001

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau