Whistle blowing in Singapore -- How?

[KuanTi01]

Bros, I thought the gahmen some time ago already announced in public and encouraged whistle-blowing, at least officially that's what they said. U can blow the whistle but not indiscriminately or else u face serious consequences including defamation until "pokkai".

With hard facts and authentic details, by all means expose their sins and let the whole world be the judge! But do it safely, for goodness sake. Internet cafes, safe meh? Personally I don't think so. Wear gloves and just send by ordinary post will do! . Good luck too.

 

[shelltox]

I give you a whistle and you go down to istana and blow as low as possible.

 

[serenditpity]

Unfortunately there are no specific provisions, procedures or protection for whistle blowers. Would suggest the following if he does not want to identified.

Send the allegations to the following people who have the least likely conflict of interest
1) Attorney General
2) Accountant General
3) Speaker of Parliament

All marked "personal and confidential" and he needs to put all 3 addresses in the same correspondence. He clearly must state that he wants to remain anonymous and does not want to be identified or involved in the investigation. The actual content can be in an appendix.

Tell him not to waste time sending to MP, Ministers, PM etc. Their inbox jammed with ridiculous complaints, allegations from HDB bin contractors taking bribes, policeman sleeping.

Accountant General is duty bound to investigate if state funds and if a prima facie case appears, AG will get the relevant authorities involved.

As to anonymity, this is pretty tricky. IP address can be traced unless he goes to an internet cafe or where no ID is required. Suggest mailing it in the first instance without leving his pawprints. Generally the authorities will not pursue the identity of the complainant who wishes to remain anonymous unless the following occurs
1) allegations are false
2) they end up at a roadblock during investigations and need to complainant's help to make progress
3) the complainant is essential as a witness in court to secure a conviction
4) they suspect the complainant is involved.

Your friend may only need to release key data/events for investigators to get a foothold.

Note: Researchers are notorious for mismanaging research funds especially when it involves travel and accommodation expenses and authorities tend to be lenient with them. $10M however is a different story.

Thanks bro
Nice to see that you are still around.

For even a non -technical person (I am not from the biotech industry) it is evident that there's some serious "funny" stuff going on. My own sense is that it would be much higher (say close to $30-40 M). But from the documents that I have seen, the $10M seems a very conservative estimate. There's a lot of cover -up that's being done, and it would require someone with some technical knowledge and a firm intent to get to the bottom of things to unravel this scandal. It is entirely possible that some very senior people are involved either directly or were just sleeping on the wheel.

My friend would have to get involved to help them in a technical sense, and can be an expert witness. But it is unlikely that he will be summoned as an impartial expert witness because he's the principal investigator in another research program.

Trust me, I have done sufficient analysis before I see it as a fit case. I dont think the AG or the Accountant general or the Speaker is the right person.

The key question is how does one get the right authorities with the right skill set to initiate investigation without exposing the digital footprints?

The documents, spreadsheets and email threads are about 32 pages, so we are not talking about something frivolous here. And this excludes the research findings.

The whistle blower is a researcher with some great credentials and is a PR. He doesn't want his future jeopardized but at the same time is outraged that such a thing can happen here.

 

[serenditpity]

We have one of the least corrupt government in the world. Please be sure before making such claims. It could hurt people unnecessarily.

Please see my response to Scroobal.

I have not been an active participant on this forum but old timers like Scroobal would attest to my honesty and integrity.

I don't make irresponsible claims or allegations. In this case, I have done my own due diligence.

 

[lockeliberal]

Dear Seren and Scroobal

You have yet to make clear whether the Biotech lab is directly state owned or it is funded by or co funded by the state. If the former then it is corruption which is under the perview of CPIB, if the latter than a lack of oversight by civil servants and more a case for the Auditor General. If the latter it is only corruption if money was paid but nothing was done or the money wa funneled out through inflated invoices and payments

Incompetence and Carelessness are a very differing legal kettle of fish from Corruption. The former is always easier to prove and prosecute in the court of public opinion. The latter requires a criminal level of proof of direct benefits to the people alleged or money being paid for nothing being done.

Do email people like the TOC or Malaysiakini with the relevant documents. The ST might chose to ignore but the MSM can't ignore it if it is picked up across the causeway or by the AM. Be very sure which case you are making, corruption and incompetence are two very very different things.




Locke





Cheers


Locke

 

[serenditpity]

Dear Seren and Scroobal

You have yet to make clear whether the Biotech lab is directly state owned or it is funded by or co funded by the state. If the former then it is corruption which is under the perview of CPIB, if the latter than a lack of oversight by civil servants and more a case for the Auditor General. If the latter it is only corruption if money was paid but nothing was done or the money wa funneled out through inflated invoices and payments

Incompetence and Carelessness are a very differing legal kettle of fish from Corruption. The former is always easier to prove and prosecute in the court of public opinion. The latter requires a criminal level of proof of direct benefits to the people alleged or money being paid for nothing being done.

Do email people like the TOC or Malaysiakini with the relevant documents. The ST might chose to ignore but the MSM can't ignore it if it is picked up across the causeway or by the AM. Be very sure which case you are making, corruption and incompetence are two very very different things.




Locke





Cheers


Locke

Hi Locke:

Nice to see some familiar faces

The lab is funded by the State and the lab has joint research with another lab overseas.

I, for one, am unable to come to a conclusive decision whether it was incompetence or corruption. It could be either or both. First, I am non-technical in that area and secondly only with some detailed investigation can one come up with the right decision. Else it is a matte rof conjecture.

But, there's definitely an attempt to cover up. So, there's already a lot of smoke.

Right now, the priority is to find how to blow the whistle without leaving digital footprints?

Let's not go on a tangent, but if anyone can answer the specific question that will help.

Thanks

 

[lockeliberal]

Dear Scroobal

Sorry for being a bit pedantic on the details but it is important. Is the lab a joint private sector-gov project or a 100% gov project. If 100% gov how was it funded, through NUS, or ASTAR etc or NTU ?

To be fair a cover up might be in place just to secure or keep funding alive. That in itself is not corruption in any sense as defined as a prosecutable offence.

I would suggest a temproary email account, and mails with complete document sets to the TOC, and or Malaysia Kini and or other more well regarded bloggers like Alex or Gerald. If the documents tell enough of a story then he will not have to come out as the whistle blower, though if serious investigations are carried out, he might be questioned as part of everyone being questioned.

U know the drill, temproary email account, which is accessed via internet cafe's or public access terminals




Locke

 

[Areopagus]

Safest thing to do is to collect hard copies of all the evidence and send to the Director National Neuroscience Institute.

11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng
Irrawaddy Block
Singapore 308433

 

[Perspective]

There are a number of credible suggestions already. I would just like to add that as long as the whistle blowing, valid or not, is not made public, defamatory and libel laws do not apply.

Although channels and awareness on blowing whistle are not as established as other countries, I do not once ever recall in Singapore history that anyone has ever been sued for blowing whistle privately.

 

[SamuelStalin]

Oh yes Ah Seng,

We can never forget the Hong Kong ICAC show called I Can't Accept Corruption hahahhaaa.

Actually this case really makes me wonder!

In Hong Kong, you could just walk into any ICAC branches in any districts and just lodge the complaints. If you want to, just mail it anonymously to ICAC HQ and they will investigate.

In Singapore, you just wonder whether you will step on anybody's toes, or any conflict of interests or even worse, regard you as "security threats"!

It is a matter of separation of powers and independence of statutory boards in investigating frauds and such. Our CPIB is basically "secret service" under PMO. They don't open offices around the island to take complaints. They don't go on education program to teach the masses on what is regarded as "bribery and corruptions". They are just there for the sake of just in case they are needed.

There are no laws in Singapore that protect whistle blowers and all connections of power are complex. You won't know who's whose foot you are stepping on since it seems that in Singapore, "talents" seems to congregate to just that few families! Thus, most probably people will just mind their own business and stop getting into trouble by being "busy body whistle blowers".

Goh Meng Seng

 

[SamuelStalin]

Whistleblowers are quite the same as martyrs. The question is this: are you up to it? Are you willing to sacrifice your own existence for the sake of the general good?

Simple. There is really no such thing as "protection for whistleblowers". You can't have your cake and eat it especially for a thing like this. And we do not recall heroes asking for protection before surging fearlessly ahead in their convictions and their sense of what is right. This in your Hokkien dialect is called "pao toh kia".

So in this whistleblowing context once you tell on somebody or show him up like that, expect to make enemies with him, and that he and his clique will come after you in vengeance.

The only thing is again, whether you are willing to forsake everything else for your beliefs. The heavens do know though especially if your intentions and correspondingly your actions are both truly objectively good.

 

[middaydog]

We have one of the least corrupt government in the world. Please be sure before making such claims. It could hurt people unnecessarily.

you forgot to say " oh! dear "

 

[annexa]

Scroobal, the LAST thing you should ever do is to make it public before police whack the assholes. Send a set of the documents to CPIB, IRAS and AG Chambers.

And don't contact that Neuro Science Director. Not that he is no good. But because he in charge one, got conflict of interest.

 

[scroobal]

Bro, thanks for giving more details. By the way, I took it as serious in the first instance when I realised who was posting this.

I will explain why I chose the AG/Acct G and speaker. Firstly, I noted that it is likely to be research funds and tend to be very technical and grey. The usual chaps - Police, CAD and CPIB will be floundering before it starts. The first thing they will do is speak to the boss of the outfit and the story might end there and they are happy to close the case based on a convenient reply. Many will be surprised to know that there are Supts/Principal Investigators who don't even have an "A" cert in this day and age.

AG/Acct G and Speaker don't have any direct responsibility to investigate and therefore less likely to affected by work backlog and conflict of interest. Collectively, they would have to look at each other to ensure that impartial investigation takes place in the first instance and their oversight powers are tremendous. The speaker is duty bound to pass this on to Parliamentary committee that overseas the Ministry that looks after Biotech. They are more likely to ensure that best outfit and best people take this on. As too many people are involved, cover-up and bullshit answers by the bosses is very diminished.

Tell your friend to breakdown the allegations into 2 parts - one non-technical ( false or unauthorised T&E claims, siphoning of funds for personal use etc) and technical ( inflated purchases of equipment, illegal tranfers to other projects, falsified data of experiments to make claims). This will facilitate the investigators and a void the bosses giving excuses or providing overwhelming technical excuses.

Tell him to photocopy the whole lot and mail it. Do tell him that they might still trace him by a process of elimination or by common denominator by access trail of documents. In that event, do not make any false statements. If he is not sure ask to speak to a lawyer. Frankly, they are unlikly to trace the person unless the allegations are false or there is an element of national security in the research.

Frankly, I can't think of any other individual or outfit that can handle this. I can vouch for Walter even though his interpretation of civil protest does not sync with me.

Thanks bro
Nice to see that you are still around.

For even a non -technical person (I am not from the biotech industry) it is evident that there's some serious "funny" stuff going on. My own sense is that it would be much higher (say close to $30-40 M). But from the documents that I have seen, the $10M seems a very conservative estimate. There's a lot of cover -up that's being done, and it would require someone with some technical knowledge and a firm intent to get to the bottom of things to unravel this scandal. It is entirely possible that some very senior people are involved either directly or were just sleeping on the wheel.

My friend would have to get involved to help them in a technical sense, and can be an expert witness. But it is unlikely that he will be summoned as an impartial expert witness because he's the principal investigator in another research program.

Trust me, I have done sufficient analysis before I see it as a fit case. I dont think the AG or the Accountant general or the Speaker is the right person.

The key question is how does one get the right authorities with the right skill set to initiate investigation without exposing the digital footprints?

The documents, spreadsheets and email threads are about 32 pages, so we are not talking about something frivolous here. And this excludes the research findings.

The whistle blower is a researcher with some great credentials and is a PR. He doesn't want his future jeopardized but at the same time is outraged that such a thing can happen here.

 

[scroobal]

Biotech industry has govt grants and funds that are conditional, the State has responsibility for accountability even if there is nothing criminal in nature. Agree on temp email acct. Just don't pass this to the Malaysians. They will start hunting for whistle blower big time. Sadly but truly it reflects on the independence of the local press and their standing as the fourth estate.

Also agree that abuse of research funds are difficult to categorise.

Dear Scroobal

Sorry for being a bit pedantic on the details but it is important. Is the lab a joint private sector-gov project or a 100% gov project. If 100% gov how was it funded, through NUS, or ASTAR etc or NTU ?

To be fair a cover up might be in place just to secure or keep funding alive. That in itself is not corruption in any sense as defined as a prosecutable offence.

I would suggest a temproary email account, and mails with complete document sets to the TOC, and or Malaysia Kini and or other more well regarded bloggers like Alex or Gerald. If the documents tell enough of a story then he will not have to come out as the whistle blower, though if serious investigations are carried out, he might be questioned as part of everyone being questioned.

U know the drill, temproary email account, which is accessed via internet cafe's or public access terminals




Locke

 

[scroobal]

I agree that it should not go public in the first instance. I rather it goes to AG/Acct G and Speaker. I don't have faith in the competence of CPIB and Police in these matters. Also don't want one Perm Sec talking to another Perm Sec with the understanding that he will handle the "culprit" and the thing does not get an airing.

I would leave to the 3 to then direct the most capable outfit or a taskforce for this purpose to get to the truth. It also so much harder for all 3 to collude in view of their distinct roles except for the commonality for state accountability of state monies and assets.

Scroobal, the LAST thing you should ever do is to make it public before police whack the assholes. Send a set of the documents to CPIB, IRAS and AG Chambers.

And don't contact that Neuro Science Director. Not that he is no good. But because he in charge one, got conflict of interest.

 

[scroobal]

If the amount passes $1m, his.her neck is on the chopping block. Like most civil servants, he will do major plastic surgery. By the way, its Bio Tech, no mention of NNI.

Safest thing to do is to collect hard copies of all the evidence and send to the Director National Neuroscience Institute.

11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng
Irrawaddy Block
Singapore 308433

 

[FuckSamLeong]

God Lee has the power! Now you see it, Now you don't!

 

[saratogas]

To whistleblow, firstly what can I get in returns $$$? My reputation gone, no company will dare to employ me.

In sales and marketing everybody, fake accounts, play around with their $$$ park here and there. Over charging is normal and undertable $$$ is common too. To whistleblow is like kill your own rice bowl.

 

[laidback]

1. Go to queensway and scan all documents into PDF files. Request documents to be burnt onto CD or DVD. If you prefer using a thumbdrive, please get a new one. Request for express job (pay a bit more) and stand and supervise the process.

2. Go to any apple store in town. Their demo sets are unmonitored and comes with internet access.

3. Create temporary Gmail account.

4. Send the files to the following (must include all addresses in the "To:" field):

Minister Trade & Industry at [email protected]
Minster Health at [email protected]
Chairman A*Star at [email protected]
Chairman EDB at [email protected]
MD EDB at [email protected]
DY Solicitor General at [email protected]

5. Go back to normal routines without causing suspicion.