Seven Charged With Corruption

On 14 October 2020, seven individuals were charged in court for allegedly committing the following offences sometime between 2014 and 2017.

a) Alvin Lim Wee Lun (林玮伦) (“Alvin”), a 40-year-old male Singapore Citizen, and a Yard Manager of Keppel FELS (“KFELS”) at the material time

i. 46 counts of abetment by conspiring with one Goh Ngak Eng (“Ngak Eng”) and one Rajavikraman s/o Jayapandian (“Rajavikraman”), to corruptly obtain gratification from several individuals. These comprised one U Keh Choon (“Keh Choon”), a Director of Titan Offshore Equipment Pte Ltd (“Titan”), one Goh Sheng Li, Stanley (“Stanley”), a Director of Spectrama Marine & Industrial Supplies Pte Ltd (“Spectrama”) and one Fatkullah Bin Tiap (“Fatkullah”), a Managing Director of Growa F.E. Pte Ltd (“Growa”), who were all subcontractors of KFELS at the material time, as an inducement to further the business interests of the said companies with KFELS. A total gratification amount of approximately $879,900 was obtained from the said contractors by Ngak Eng for himself, Alvin and Rajavikraman. These constituted offences punishable under Section 6(a) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

b) Rajavikraman s/o Jayapandian, a 45-year-old male Singapore Citizen

i. 46 counts of abetment by conspiring with Ngak Eng and Alvin (KFELS) to corruptly obtain gratification from Keh Choon (Titan), Stanley (Spectrama) and Fatkullah (Growa), who were subcontractors of KFELS at the material time, as an inducement to further the business interests of the said companies with KFELS. A total gratification amount of approximately $879,900 was obtained from the said contractors by Ngak Eng for himself, Alvin and Rajavikraman. These constituted offences punishable under Section 6(a) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

ii. 3 counts of corruptly obtaining gratification amounting to $7,000 from Ngak Eng as a reward for furthering the business interest of a marine equipment manufacturer with another company in the same line of business, an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

c) Goh Ngak Eng (吴岳荣), a 54-year-old male Singapore Citizen

i. 46 counts of abetment by conspiring with Alvin (KFELS) and Rajavikraman to corruptly obtain gratification from Keh Choon (Titan), Stanley (Spectrama) and Fatkullah (Growa), who were subcontractors of KFELS at the material time, as an inducement to further the business interests of the said companies with KFELS. Ngak Eng had obtained a total gratification amounting to approximately $879,900 from the said contractors for himself, Alvin and Rajavikraman. These constituted offences punishable under Section 6(a) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

ii. 3 counts of corruptly giving gratification amounting to $7,000 to Rajavikraman as a reward for furthering the business interest of a marine equipment manufacturer with another company in the same line of business, an offence punishable under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

iii. 10 counts of corruptly giving gratification amounting to approximately $15,100 to Ong as a reward for Ong preparing fictitious invoices on a logistics company’s letterhead, an offence punishable under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

d) U Keh Choon (龙家骏), a 50-year-old male Singapore PR, and the Director of Titan Offshore Equipment Pte. Ltd. (“Titan”) at the material time

i. 7 counts of corruptly giving gratification amounting to approximately $196,700 to Ngak Eng, Alvin (KFELS) and Rajavikraman through the said Ngak Eng as an inducement for furthering the business interest of Titan with KFELS, an offence punishable under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

e) Goh Sheng Li, Stanley (吴生利), a 33-year-old male Singapore Citizen, and the Director of Spectrama Marine & Industrial Supplies Pte Ltd (“Spectrama”) at the material time

i. 21 counts of corruptly giving gratification amounting to approximately $190,900 to Ngak Eng, Alvin (KFELS) and Rajavikraman through the said Ngak Eng, as an inducement for furthering the business interest of Spectrama with KFELS, an offence punishable under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

f) Fatkullah Bin Tiap, a 59-year-old male Singapore Citizen, and the Managing Director of Growa F.E. Pte Ltd (“Growa”) at the material time

i. 18 counts of corruptly giving gratification amounting to approximately $492,300 to Ngak Eng, Alvin (KFELS) and Rajavikraman through the said Ngak Eng, as an inducement for furthering the business interest of Growa with KFELS, an offence punishable under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

g) Ong Tun Chai (翁敦财), a 48-year-old male Singapore Citizen

i. 10 counts of corruptly accepting gratification amounting to approximately $15,100 from Ngak Eng as a reward for preparing fictitious invoices on a logistics company’s letterhead, an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

ii. 20 counts of wilfully and with intent to defraud, falsifying papers belonging to a logistics company, issued to Growa and Titan, to reflect that services were requested by Growa and Titan when they were not, an offence punishable under Section 477A of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

2. 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.

3. 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 adopt 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 an anti-bribery management system or enhance existing systems to reduce corporate risks and reputational costs associated with corruption.

Reference Links:

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

• SS ISO 37001

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau