Two Directors of Engineering Firm Starburst and Vice Presidents of Two Companies Charged

On 5 August 2022, two Directors of Starburst Engineering Pte Ltd (“Starburst”) and vice presidents of two other companies will be charged in Court for various offences. They are:

a) Yap Tin Foo (“Yap”) (叶鼎富, 58-year-old male Malaysian), Director of Starburst Engineering Pte Ltd at the material time;

b) Edward Lim Chin Wah (“Edward”) (65-year-old male Singaporean), Director of Starburst Engineering Pte Ltd at the material time;

c) Tan Keng Liong (“Tan”) (陳經亮, 64-year-old male Singaporean), Vice President (Projects) at Jurong Primewide Pte Ltd (“JPW”) at the material time; and

d) Gerald Lim Lee Meng (“Gerald”) (林利明, 56-year-old male Singaporean), a Vice President at CPG Consultants Pte Ltd (“CPG”) at the material time.

Alleged Corruption Offences

2. On five occasions in 2011, Yap had allegedly given gratification in the form of entertainment amounting to about S$9,900 to Tan as an inducement for advancing the business interest of Starburst with JPW. In addition, sometime in 2012, Tan had allegedly accepted gratification in the form of expenses relating to a trip to the People’s Republic of China amounting to about S$4,800 from Yap as an inducement for advancing the business interest of Starburst with JPW. For his actions, Yap faces one amalgamated charge underSection 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Correspondingly, Tan faces one amalgamated charge under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and one charge under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, read with Section 37 of the same Act.

Alleged Falsification of Accounts Offences

3. Between July 2014 to December 2014, Edward had allegedly instigated an officer of Starburst to issue falsified subcontracts to G-Cube Engineering Pte Ltd (“G-Cube”) for works valued at a sum of about S$500,800. In addition, between September 2014 and August 2015, Yap had allegedly instigated an officer of G-Cube to generate false invoices from G-Cube to Starburst to seek payment for works valued at a sum of about S$552,200. For their actions, Edward and Yap each face three and eight charges respectively under Section 477A read with Section 109 of the Penal Code.

Alleged Official Secrets Act Offence

4. Sometime in 2019, Gerald was alleged to have provided two pieces of A3 paper containing a comparative analysis of the tender bids received from tenderers for Home Team Tactical Centre (“HTTC”) Phase 2A and the Development Planning Committee budget to Yap, when Gerald was not authorised to do so. Gerald had obtained the aforementioned information owing to his position in CPG, which held a contract with the Ministry of Home Affairs involving the construction of the HTTC. For his action, Gerald faces one charge under section 5(1)(e) read with section 5(1)(i) of the Official Secrets Act.

5. 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 both. Any person who is convicted under Section 477A of the Penal Code can be sentenced to imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and also be liable to a fine. Any person who is convicted of an offence under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act can be fined up to S$2,000 and sentenced to imprisonment of up to two years.

6. CPIB looks into all corruption-related 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;
c) Call the Duty Officer at 1800-376-0000; or
d) Write to us at the CPIB Headquarters @ 2 Lengkok Bahru, S159047.

5. 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