Not Spared For Corrupt Acts

Employees who are involved in procurement work should not accept bribes in return for favouring certain suppliers. By giving an unfair advantage to vendors in exchange for bribes, it could disrupt market competition and inflate the cost of doing business.

2. On 22 July 2020, Zhou Weiqiang (“Zhou”), 周维强, a 55-year-old male PRC national and Singapore Permanent Resident, was sentenced to 8 months’ imprisonment for offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

3. The offences were committed when Zhou was in the employment of Tiong Woon Enterprise Pte Ltd (“Tiong Woon”), a company in the business of selling crane spare parts and equipment. As the Assistant Spare Parts Manager, Zhou was responsible for the sourcing of quotes for the purchase of crane spare parts. Zhou had the ability to influence the procurement process as he was responsible for the evaluation of quotes before submitting his recommendations to his superior for approval.

4. Investigations revealed that sometime between January 2011 and September 2014, Zhou corruptly received about S$90,760 on 39 occasions from one “Jason Wang Xue”, an employee of WOT Parts & Machinery (HK) Co Ltd (“WOT”), as a reward for showing favour to WOT in relation to the procurement of spare parts from WOT instead of other suppliers. Zhou had received these bribes in the form of corrupt commissions. Additionally, on 25 March 2011, Zhou corruptly received a commission payment of about S$1,360 from one “Jessica”, an employee of Xuzhou Silkway Machinery & Equipment Co Ltd (“Xuzhou Silkway”), in exchange for placing orders with them instead of other suppliers. Zhou was subsequently charged in Court on 21 February 2020 for accepting gratification in return for favouring WOT (one amalgamated charge) and Xuzhou Silkway (one charge) in the procurement of spare parts.

5. Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. 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) 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

7. 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