- Joined
- Mar 31, 2020
- Messages
- 9,153
- Points
- 113
AMK Town Council graft case: Chief Justice extends jail terms of ex-general manager, associate by a year on appeal
Former town council general manager Wong Chee Meng will now spend more than three years behind bars
Chia Sin Lan, whom he took bribes from, will serve two years and nine months’ jail
Chia admitted sending money to Wong’s mistress in China
SINGAPORE — The High Court on Thursday (July 16) increased the sentences meted out last year to former Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) general manager Wong Chee Meng and company director Chia Sin Lan over a high-profile graft case involving S$86,141 of bribes.
Both the prosecution and the defence had appealed against the sentences of two years and three months’ jail for Wong, 60, and a year and nine months’ jail for Chia, 64.*
Prosecutors had sought four years for Wong and three years and eight months for Chia. Wong’s lawyers argued for 11 to 14 months, while Chia’s sought one year of jail.
Following the appeal, both men will now serve an additional year in jail.
Both men have been behind bars since November last year when they were dealt with in a district court.
Wong will also pay a penalty of S$23,398.09, while Chia’s building and repair companies will pay S$75,000 in fines each for being in a criminal conspiracy to commit corruption.
In increasing their sentences on Thursday, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who heard the case in May, set out a new sentencing framework for the offence of participating in a corrupt transaction with an agent involving a public body.
He noted that Chia had gotten substantial benefits from Wong, who was an insider in AMKTC and able to provide “invaluable assistance and support”.*
The bribery had caused harm to third parties such as competitors for tenders as well, who were “forced to compete on unequal terms”.
Chief Justice Menon also rubbished the defence’s arguments that the bribes had to be seen in the context of both men’s close friendship.
BRIBES INVOLVED REMITTANCES, ENTERTAINMENT EXPENSES
Last year, in the middle of a trial spanning several months, Wong and Chia pleaded guilty to three counts of corruption each.*
The penalty for each charge is a maximum jail term of seven years — two years more than the highest possible for a typical corruption charge as the transactions involved a public body — and/or a fine of up to S$100,000.
Wong admitted to receiving S$86,141 in kickbacks from 2014 to 2016 to advance the business interests of Chia’s two companies, 19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise.
The bribes included overseas remittances from Chia to Wong’s mistress in China, entertainment expenses at various karaoke lounges, restaurants, spas, as well as discounts on a car.
Wong was an employee of CPG Facilities Management, the managing agent of the town council that serves the Ang Mo Kio public housing estate.
He was appointed AMKTC’s general manager in November 2013 and was in charge of the town council’s overall operations including selecting contractors for works.
Chia’s companies, 19-ANC (Apollo Night Club https://www.fuckwarezone.com.sg/img/forums/hwz/smilies/wobble.gifhttps://www.fuckwarezone.com.sg/img/forums/hwz/smilies/wobble.gif) and 19-NS2, handle general building, repairs and redecoration works for town councils including AMKTC.
Wong admitted to influencing his staff members from the contracts department to include 19-ANC in the list of contractors to invite for quotes.*
Two more charges for each man, involving salaries paid to Wong’s daughter-in-law by 19-ANC and the mobile phone and subscription that Wong used to make calls to his mistress, were considered for sentencing back then.
CORRUPTION WAS ISOLATED TO WONG
In his 47-page written judgment on Thursday, Chief Justice Menon described the corruption as “fairly sophisticated” and involving “considerable planning and premeditation”.*
He listed some non-exhaustive offence-specific factors in his new framework, including:
Amount of gratification given or received
Actual loss suffered by principal
Benefit to the bribe-giver
Public disquiet
Involvement of a transnational element
Degree of planning and premeditation
Extent of offender’s abuse of position and breach of trust
After applying the framework, the Chief Justice found that both men were ultimately motivated by greed, with Wong having abused the high degree of trust reposed on him as the town council’s general manager.
Chia had also disguised the bribes by channelling the remittances through an intermediary and paying for the entertainment expenses in cash or through a corporate debit card, Chief Justice Menon noted.
While there was no specific evidence that Chia’s competitors suffered a loss of business that they would otherwise have gotten if Wong had not intervened, the Chief Justice said this was not the issue.
“As I pointed out… the public procurement process is built on fairness and transparency.
“By having Wong surreptitiously advocating on the inside for the interests of (Chia’s) companies and assisting in the submission of bids, the fundamental bases for the conduct of tenders and invitations to quote had been violated,” he said.
He further found that the district judge was wrong in thinking that Wong’s interventions did not affect or interfere with the tender process or that the remittance charge was less serious as Chia might have given the bribes in the form of loans.
As for their “close friendship”, the Chief Justice expressed doubts as to whether friendship has any mitigatory value in such corrupt transactions.
Nevertheless, he accepted that the corruption was isolated to Wong despite him being “one of the most senior non-political employees in a town council, an institution that plays a central role in the lives of most Singaporeans”.
Wong was represented by Ms Melanie Ho, Mr Tang Shangwei and Ms Janie Hui from WongPartnership, while Chia was defended by Mr Eugene Thuraisingam, Mr Chooi Jing Yen and Mr Hamza Malik.
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapor...sX4AWti1YztmfQ
Former town council general manager Wong Chee Meng will now spend more than three years behind bars
Chia Sin Lan, whom he took bribes from, will serve two years and nine months’ jail
Chia admitted sending money to Wong’s mistress in China
SINGAPORE — The High Court on Thursday (July 16) increased the sentences meted out last year to former Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) general manager Wong Chee Meng and company director Chia Sin Lan over a high-profile graft case involving S$86,141 of bribes.
Both the prosecution and the defence had appealed against the sentences of two years and three months’ jail for Wong, 60, and a year and nine months’ jail for Chia, 64.*
Prosecutors had sought four years for Wong and three years and eight months for Chia. Wong’s lawyers argued for 11 to 14 months, while Chia’s sought one year of jail.
Following the appeal, both men will now serve an additional year in jail.
Both men have been behind bars since November last year when they were dealt with in a district court.
Wong will also pay a penalty of S$23,398.09, while Chia’s building and repair companies will pay S$75,000 in fines each for being in a criminal conspiracy to commit corruption.
In increasing their sentences on Thursday, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who heard the case in May, set out a new sentencing framework for the offence of participating in a corrupt transaction with an agent involving a public body.
He noted that Chia had gotten substantial benefits from Wong, who was an insider in AMKTC and able to provide “invaluable assistance and support”.*
The bribery had caused harm to third parties such as competitors for tenders as well, who were “forced to compete on unequal terms”.
Chief Justice Menon also rubbished the defence’s arguments that the bribes had to be seen in the context of both men’s close friendship.
BRIBES INVOLVED REMITTANCES, ENTERTAINMENT EXPENSES
Last year, in the middle of a trial spanning several months, Wong and Chia pleaded guilty to three counts of corruption each.*
The penalty for each charge is a maximum jail term of seven years — two years more than the highest possible for a typical corruption charge as the transactions involved a public body — and/or a fine of up to S$100,000.
Wong admitted to receiving S$86,141 in kickbacks from 2014 to 2016 to advance the business interests of Chia’s two companies, 19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise.
The bribes included overseas remittances from Chia to Wong’s mistress in China, entertainment expenses at various karaoke lounges, restaurants, spas, as well as discounts on a car.
Wong was an employee of CPG Facilities Management, the managing agent of the town council that serves the Ang Mo Kio public housing estate.
He was appointed AMKTC’s general manager in November 2013 and was in charge of the town council’s overall operations including selecting contractors for works.
Chia’s companies, 19-ANC (Apollo Night Club https://www.fuckwarezone.com.sg/img/forums/hwz/smilies/wobble.gifhttps://www.fuckwarezone.com.sg/img/forums/hwz/smilies/wobble.gif) and 19-NS2, handle general building, repairs and redecoration works for town councils including AMKTC.
Wong admitted to influencing his staff members from the contracts department to include 19-ANC in the list of contractors to invite for quotes.*
Two more charges for each man, involving salaries paid to Wong’s daughter-in-law by 19-ANC and the mobile phone and subscription that Wong used to make calls to his mistress, were considered for sentencing back then.
CORRUPTION WAS ISOLATED TO WONG
In his 47-page written judgment on Thursday, Chief Justice Menon described the corruption as “fairly sophisticated” and involving “considerable planning and premeditation”.*
He listed some non-exhaustive offence-specific factors in his new framework, including:
Amount of gratification given or received
Actual loss suffered by principal
Benefit to the bribe-giver
Public disquiet
Involvement of a transnational element
Degree of planning and premeditation
Extent of offender’s abuse of position and breach of trust
After applying the framework, the Chief Justice found that both men were ultimately motivated by greed, with Wong having abused the high degree of trust reposed on him as the town council’s general manager.
Chia had also disguised the bribes by channelling the remittances through an intermediary and paying for the entertainment expenses in cash or through a corporate debit card, Chief Justice Menon noted.
While there was no specific evidence that Chia’s competitors suffered a loss of business that they would otherwise have gotten if Wong had not intervened, the Chief Justice said this was not the issue.
“As I pointed out… the public procurement process is built on fairness and transparency.
“By having Wong surreptitiously advocating on the inside for the interests of (Chia’s) companies and assisting in the submission of bids, the fundamental bases for the conduct of tenders and invitations to quote had been violated,” he said.
He further found that the district judge was wrong in thinking that Wong’s interventions did not affect or interfere with the tender process or that the remittance charge was less serious as Chia might have given the bribes in the form of loans.
As for their “close friendship”, the Chief Justice expressed doubts as to whether friendship has any mitigatory value in such corrupt transactions.
Nevertheless, he accepted that the corruption was isolated to Wong despite him being “one of the most senior non-political employees in a town council, an institution that plays a central role in the lives of most Singaporeans”.
Wong was represented by Ms Melanie Ho, Mr Tang Shangwei and Ms Janie Hui from WongPartnership, while Chia was defended by Mr Eugene Thuraisingam, Mr Chooi Jing Yen and Mr Hamza Malik.
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapor...sX4AWti1YztmfQ
