Two Convicted of Corruption Involving S$20,000

On 14 April 2022, Quek Han Leng Mervyn (“Quek”, 郭漢龍, 36-year-old male Singapore Citizen), a Senior Engineer of SP PowerGrid Limited (“SPPG”) at the material time, was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment for receiving bribes. Ong Wei Jian (“Ong”, 王伟健, 35-year-old male Singapore Citizen), a Director of One West Engineering Pte Ltd (“OWE”) at the material time, who had given the bribes, had earlier been sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment on 5 January 2022.

2. Investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) revealed that sometime between January and February 2018, Quek had notified Ong about an upcoming SPPG Tender on Supply and Laying of Gas Mains and Services through a Whatsapp message. Subsequently, Quek shared confidential gas plans which contained information such as gas pipe routings, locations and pipe sizes with Ong before the official opening of the said tender. Hence, Ong stood to gain a competitive advantage in the said tender submission. In return, Quek obtained gratification of S$20,000 from Ong on 4 April 2018. For their actions, Quek and Ong were charged in Court under Section 6(a) and Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap 241), respectively, on 30 April 2021.

3. 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 5 years or to both.

4. 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