Fined Over Purchases Lined With Corruption

It is illegal for employees to line their pockets with corrupt commissions obtained during the course of their work.

2. On 18 March 2019, Hong Eng Lam (洪永南), a 57-year-old former Logistics Manager was sentenced to pay a fine of $27,000 after pleading guilty to three charges of corruption. Four similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

3. At the material time of the offences, Hong was employed by Hsing Loong Management Pte Ltd (“Hsing Loong”) where his duties involved sourcing for quotations of equipment and providing recommendations to HSL Constructor Pte Ltd (“HSL”) and its subsidiaries. Hsing Loong is a fully owned subsidiary of HSL. Investigations by the CPIB revealed that from 2016 till 2017, Hong had contacted suppliers to request for commission fees ranging between $2,000 to $5,000. In turn, Hong would recommend to HSL to make purchases of equipment from these companies.

4. As a result, Hong was charged on 25 January 2019 with 7 counts of corruptly obtaining gratification amounting to $21,400 from employees of JPN Industrial Trading Pte Ltd, Nordic Lift-Truck Pte Ltd and Cycle and Carriage Industries Pte Ltd as inducements or rewards for making recommendations to HSL for the purchase of generators, welding sets, tippers and a forklift from these companies. These constitute offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

5. Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. It is a serious offence to obtain bribes, or attempt to obtain bribes from another individual or entity. Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to $100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to 5 years or to both.

6. The CPIB looks into all corruption complaints and reports, including anonymous ones, and can be reached via the following channels:

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

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau