Ong was at the centre of a different corruption scandal in 1996 that involved million-dollar sweeteners paid to senior minister Lee Kuan Yew and deputy prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong decided not to refer the matter to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, instead authorising finance minister Richard Hu to chat with the two Lees and report back. Unsurprisingly, Hu
found no wrongdoing, in much the same way that Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean found nothing wrong with the Ridout Road saga.