CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 mln

[General Veers]

Updated: 07/25/2013 01:48

CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong has been charged with misappropriating $1.7 million

An Assistant Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau has been charged with 21 offences including misappropriation and forgery.

39-year-old Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong is accused of eight counts of misappropriation totalling more than $1.7 million.

The Head of Field Research and Technical Support allegedly misappropriated the money intended to be used for the purchase of goods required by the department.
Yeo faces one count of forgery.

He is also charged with 12 counts under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

For these 12 charges, he allegedly used some $241,000 that was deposited into his bank account for gaming activities at Marina Bay Sands Casino.

The offences were allegedly committed between 2008 and September 2012.

During the court session, the bespectacled man asked for time to settle his family affairs, as well as make his own representations and prepare for mitigation.

He said he does not plan to engage a counsel and also asked for a lower bail amount.

Yeo said he has been cooperative with authorities and that he is a low-flight risk, so he does not warrant a high bail amount.

But the prosecution asked for bail to be fixed at $500,000 given the seriousness of the charges and the court agreed.

If he is convicted of misappropriation, Yeo could face life imprisonment and a fine for every charge.

For forgery, one can be jailed up to four years and fined.

If found guilty of using benefits from criminal conduct, Yeo faces a maximum of seven years' jail and a $500,000 fine on each charge.

 

[Someday]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


Updated: 07/24/2013 20:43

Director of CPIB accepts responsibility for any lapses or deficiencies which allowed a senior staff's actions to go undetected for four years

The Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) has accepted responsibilitly for any lapses or deficiencies which allowed a senior staff's actions to go undetected for four years.

Mr Eric Tan said he is deeply sorry that a loss of public funds occurred during his watch.

Mr Tan said CPIB will learn from this episode and will strengthen its safeguards and improve its processes to prevent this from happening again.

CPIB said the recommendations made by the Independent Review Panel were accepted by the Prime Minister and are being implemented by the bureau to strengthen its financial management and controls.

CPIB said it does not condone any criminal or improper acts by its officers.

In last two decades, there have been two cases involving errant CPIB officers.

In 1997, Chan Toh Kai, a Senior Special Investigator with the CPIB was sentenced to one year's jail for cheating.

In 2002, Sogamaran Gopal Ramachandran, a Senior Research Officer with the CPIB was jailed two years for corruptly accepting gratification to divulge classified information about an investigation into two police officers attached to the Intellectual Property Rights Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Singapore Police Force.

 

[Someday]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


Updated: 07/24/2013 21:01

DPM Teo on CPIB case

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of the Civil Service Teo Chee Hean says the government takes a very serious view of the case against Edwin Yeo Seow Hong.

"This is a particularly serious case because it involves a senior officer from the CPIB whose mission is to maintain the integrity of the system. We will take strong measures to correct any weaknesses in processes and the PMO is also looking to see whether there is any supervisory lapses and, if so, we will take actions against those responsible."

He says the CPIB first uncovered the alleged wrong-doing in September last year.

As the accused was a CPIB officer at the time and the alleged financial impropriety could have amounted to a criminal offence, the matter was reported to the Commercial Affairs Department, which carried out the probe.

Mr Teo says this was to ensure an impartial and thorough investigation.

And he understands the public concern over the recent number of high profile cases against public officers.

"The Public Service itself is concerned about this and, hence, earlier this year the PMO asked the Commercial Affairs Department and the CPIB to study the numbers and the trends. And, overall, the conclusion is that the number of cases in the Public Service is low and quite stable over the past five years."

On average, CPIB opens 39 cases involving public officers each year for investigation.

Mr Teo says these cases made up about 20 per cent of all cases opened by CPIB.

About two thirds of the investigations involving public officers led to prosecution or disciplinary proceedings.

But he says it will require a lot of hard work and vigilance from everyone to keep these numbers low.

"Public institutions and public officers are held to the highest standards of integrity and conduct. And what this means is that we need strong enforcement when there's wrong-doing. But most important of all, the foundation is good values."

Mr Teo says he's asked the Head of the Civil Service to share the key findings from the study with the public by the end of the week.

 

[Someday]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


Independent review panel appointed to strengthen financial procedures at CPIB

By S Ramesh
POSTED: 24 Jul 2013 7:49 PM

Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau

SINGAPORE: The prime minister appointed an independent review panel to strengthen the financial procedures and audit system in the Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau (CPIB), after Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong, a CPIB assistant director, was alleged to have misappropriated more than S$1.7 million.

The panel was led by then-Deputy Secretary (development) at the Ministry of Finance, Mr Lim Hock Chuan, with two other members to review the circumstances that led to the loss of public funds, and to make recommendations on the CPIB's financial administration and operations.

The panel has since completed the review and submitted its report, which the prime minister has accepted. The Prime Minister's Office said that the recommendations are currently being implemented.

With a number of high-profile cases in Singapore recently involving senior civil servants who have run foul of the law, and government leaders acknowledge that people are understandably concerned if this reflected systemic issues in the public service.

Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said if the allegations made against Yeo are true, they are deeply disappointing and disturbing.

Speaking to the media after touring the Law Week exhibition at the Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon, the minister stressed that each time a case like this happened in Singapore, it is important to deal with it decisively and firmly.

Mr Shanmugam explained: "Inevitably, in human nature, you will have people who succumb to temptation, do things they are not supposed to do whether in the civil service, banks, law firms, in institutions there are despite having best controls, human ingenuity, somebody will try and beat it.

"What we need to do is to always be vigilant and make sure that these are the exceptions and they don't become the norm. The way you make sure these remain the exceptions is to make sure that there are enough checks and balances, there is a high possibility that people will get caught and when they do get caught, you deal with them very firmly.

"Do that, then you ensure the entire system is clean and the transgressors are a minority."

Mr Shanmugam acknowledged that the public will be concerned with the case and hence the importance of dealing with it openly and transparently in the courts.

But he added that it is not always possible to have rules that will completely eradicate misbehaviour.

He said: "What you can do is to make sure that this doesn't become the cancer that spreads right through, that the system as a whole is clean, not infected and for that you need leadership which is honest, be prepared to deal with it openly in court, regardless of who it is, take action, have strict laws and also learn the lesson from each time and see whether there are any rules to be changed.

"But you will know every now and then this will happen, but the whole task is to make sure they are a distinct minority."

To ensure that the system is clean, the minister said it has to start from the top leadership, which must be determined to deal with whatever happens, openly and clearly.

The director of CPIB, Eric Tan, has accepted responsibility for any lapses or deficiencies which allowed a senior staff's actions to go undetected for four years.

He said that he is deeply sorry that a loss of public funds occurred during his watch. He added that CPIB will learn from this episode and will strengthen its safeguards and improve its processes to prevent this from happening again.

- CNA/ac

 

[Someday]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


Updated: 07/24/2013 11:54 | By Channel NewsAsia

Corruption, financial crime cases involving public officers low & stable: DPM Teo

SINGAPORE: The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on average opened 39 cases involving public officers per year for investigation.

About two-thirds of the investigations involving public officers led to prosecution or disciplinary proceedings.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also the minister-in-charge of the civil service, revealed this in a statement after an officer from CPIB was charged with misappropriating public funds on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and CPIB had conducted a study of public officers investigated by the two agencies over the last five years.

The public officers were investigated for corruption and other financial crimes to see whether there was any change in their number or profile.

Mr Teo said overall the study concluded that cases involving public officers have remained low and quite stable over the last five years.

But he added that keeping the numbers low requires constant effort and vigilance.

Mr Teo said many cases were reported either by the public, or by officers in the public service.

This, Mr Teo said, suggests a strong culture in Singapore and in the public service that rejects corruption.

He said: "Public institutions and public offices are held to the highest standards of integrity and conduct. What this means is that we need strong enforcement when there's wrongdoing, we need to correct weaknesses whenever we find them. But most important of all, the foundation is good values."

Mr Teo has added that the head of the civil service will share the study's findings with his officers and will make the key findings public by the end of the week.

Mr Teo said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is examining whether any supervisory lapses may have contributed to this incident.

He said PMO will take action against the officers responsible if this is so.

PMO said the prime minister had appointed an independent review panel to look at how this case happened, and to strengthen the financial procedures and audit system in CPIB to prevent a recurrence.

The recommendations of the panel are being implemented. - CNA/xq

 

[Someday]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


CPIB officer facing fraud charges released on $500,000 court bail

Published on Jul 24, 2013

Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong (above), who is facing a string of fraud charges in court, has been released on bail after he managed to raise the $500,000 bail bond set by the court earlier. -- ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI

By Ian Poh

Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong, who is facing a string of fraud charges in court, has been released on bail after he managed to raise the $500,000 bail bond set by the court earlier.

The case against the assistant director from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) will be heard again on Aug 21.

Yeo, who was the head of field research and technical support at CPIB when the offences were committed, was charged in court on Wednesday morning for misappropriating at least $1.7 million from the anti-graft agency,

He faces 21 charges in total; eight for criminal breach of trust as a public servant, one count of forging a receipt for a $370,755 payment by the bureau and 12 counts of using the proceeds of his crimes for gambling at the casino in Marina Bay Sands.

 

[Someday]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


Former CPIB assistant director misappropriates $716,768 in six months

July 25, 2013 - 1:07am

By: Shaffiq Alkhatib

TNP PHOTO: Benjamin Seetor

He allegedly started his crime spree in 2008, misappropriating $1,200 from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

This amount quickly increased over the years - between Feb 15 and Aug 28 last year, Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong allegedly misappropriated $716,768.37.

The 39-year-old was charged yesterday with eight counts of criminal breach of trust involving monies totalling $1,760,053.35, 12 counts of using $241,030 of his ill-gotten gains for gambling at the Marina Bay Sands casino and one count of fraud.

Yeo, who was an assistant director at the bureau, had served CPIB for 15 years.

Read the full report in The New Paper on Thursday (July 25).

 

[General Veers]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


CPIB officer accused of embezzling over $1.7m

Bryna Singh
The Straits Times
Saturday, Jul 27, 2013

SINGAPORE - As a department head in the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong was entrusted with public funds earmarked to support the agency's war on graft.

But on Wednesday, the 15-year CPIB veteran appeared in court accused of misappropriating more than $1.7 million from the bureau, among other related offences.

He faces a total of 21 charges: eight for criminal breach of trust as a public servant, one for forging a payment receipt and 12 counts of using the proceeds of his crimes to gamble.

The CPIB said in a statement on Wednesday that Yeo's ruse was uncovered on Sept 14 last year. He was suspended from duty and interdicted the next day.

The Straits Times understands it was a whistle-blower who alerted the bureau to the case, before it was referred to the police Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) for investigation shortly after.

The court heard that Yeo - who headed the bureau's field research and technical support branch - had between 2008 and last year, siphoned off funds meant for CPIB operations.

He also misappropriated two Honda Civics and two motorcycles belonging to the anti-graft agency, and forged a receipt that claimed a payment of $370,755 had been received by a supplier when this was not the case.

Yeo, 39, was said to have gambled away more than $240,000 of the money he had siphoned off, at the casino in Marina Bay Sands between last May and September.

It was not clear what the rest of the funds went into but prosecutors told the court that of the $1.7 million Yeo misappropriated, $67,000 had been recovered.

Speaking from the dockon Wednesday, Yeo told the court that he did not intend to engage a defence lawyer and asked for an adjournment of eight to 10 weeks to "settle family problems".

He also said the CAD had served him the charges only on Tuesday. "I need some time to prepare my representations and mitigation plea," he added.

The judge agreed but called for Yeo's passport to be impounded before he was released on bail of $500,000 in the afternoon.

The case will be heard again on Aug 21.

Commenting after the case was heard in court, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is in charge of the civil service, said: "This case is particularly serious because it involved a senior officer in the CPIB, which is entrusted with the mission of maintaining the integrity of the system."

CPIB director Eric Tan on Wednesday apologised in a statement and said the bureau would learn from the case and strengthen its safeguards.

Recommendations to prevent a recurrence of such an incident, submitted by an independent review panel appointed by the Prime Minister, are also being implemented, said the Prime Minister's Office.

[email protected]

 

[General Veers]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


Yeo allegedly started by taking $1,200 from CPIB

Bryna Singh
The Straits Times
Saturday, Jul 27, 2013

SINGAPORE - It all started with $1,200 from the coffers of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

Apparently when Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong allegedly took the money in 2008, no one noticed. That only made the CPIB officer more brazen.

The sums he allegedly misappropriated ballooned from year to year - from $95,000 in 2009, to $106,000 the next year, and $320,000 in 2011. Last year, he allegedly siphoned about $1.2 million.

The total came to more than $1.7 million, a sum he was yesterday charged with misappropriating from the anti-graft agency.

The 39-year-old was caught after someone within the bureau blew the whistle on him.

When he was released on $500,000 court bail and left the Subordinate Courts at about 7pm on Wednesday, he was heard saying "game over, game over" as photographers snapped his picture.

Yeo faces 21 charges in total, with the misappropriation of the money forming the first eight.

The 15-year CPIB veteran is also accused of one count of forgery, and 12 counts of using the fruits of his crime to gamble.

The CPIB said in a statement on Wednesday that it was alerted to the case on Sept 14 last year. Following preliminary investigations, he was suspended from duty and interdicted the next day.

The matter was handed over to the Commercial Affairs Department for an "independent, impartial and thorough" investigation to be conducted.

The bureau's statement added that Yeo had "circumvented" Civil Service rules meant to ensure financial accountability and propriety, which included filing annual declarations regarding one's financial liabilities.

CPIB director Eric Tan on Wednesday said he was "deeply sorry" for the loss of public funds as a result of Yeo's actions.

"As the most senior officer in the agency, I accept responsibility for any lapses or deficiencies which allowed a senior staff's actions to go undetected for four years."

He promised that CPIB would strengthen its safeguards and improve its processes to prevent a repeat. "CPIB will learn from this," he added.

When Yeo first siphoned the $1,200 in 2008, he was heading the bureau's field research and technical support branch.

By 2011 - a year after receiving the Pingat Kepujian (Commendation Medal) from the Prime Minister's Office - he was emboldened to misappropriate more than $320,000. The amount was "intended to be used for the purchase of goods and services required" by his branch for its operations, court papers said.

He also apparently forged a payment receipt sometime in March 2011 to make it seem as though an equipment supplier had received $370,755 from the CPIB, when in fact, no such payment was received.

Last year allegedly brought Yeo his biggest illegal haul - $1.2 million.

Part of this came from the misappropriation of four CPIB vehicles that had been entrusted into his care: two Honda Civics, a Honda Hornet 250cc motorcycle, and a larger 900cc bike of the same make.

These were valued at $46,676.

The same year, Yeo was said to have frequented the casino at Marina Bay Sands, where he allegedly gambled away more than $240,000 of his ill-gotten gains between last May and September.

During this period, he withdrew sums ranging from $6,950 to $45,550 from his POSBank account.

His case will be heard again on Aug 21. Yeo may be jailed for life, or given a jail term of up to 20 years, and a fine if he is convicted of criminal breach of trust as a public servant.

GOVT WILL TIGHTEN UP PROCESSES

This case is particularly serious because it involved a senior officer in the CPIB, which is entrusted with the mission of maintaining the integrity of the system... We will take strong measures to tighten up processes. PMO is examining whether any supervisory lapses may have contributed to this incident. If so, it will take action against the officers responsible.

- Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also the minister in charge of the civil service

VIGILANCE THE KEY

Inevitably with human nature, you will have people who succumb to temptation, who do things they aren't supposed to do - whether in the civil service, banks, law firms or in institutions - despite having the best controls. What we need to do is always be vigilant, be on top of it, and make sure these are the exceptions and they don't become the norm.

- Law and Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam

The 21 charges

2008

Misappropriated $1,200

2009

Misappropriated a total of $94,703.64 on various occasions

2010

Misappropriated a total of $56,002.11 on various occasions

Misappropriated $50,825 on or about March 10

2011

Misappropriated a total of $323,613.20 on various occasions between Jan 24 and Nov 16

Forged payment receipt of $370,755.00 sometime around March

2012

Misappropriated a total of $716,768.37 on various occasions between Feb 15 and Aug 28

Misappropriated a total of $470,265.03 on various occasions between May 4 and Aug 31

Spent $11,950 gambling on May 4

Spent $10,900 gambling on June 1

Spent $45,550 gambling on June 3

Spent $6,950 gambling on June 4

Misappropriated four vehicles worth a gross value of $46,676 belonging to CPIB sometime in June

Spent $16,650 gambling on July 13

Spent $8,250 gambling on July 30

Spent $30,450 gambling on Aug 11

Spent $23,500 gambling on Aug 12

Spent $9,100 gambling on Aug 31

Spent $32,400 gambling on Sept 3

Spent $32,750 gambling on Sept 7

Spent $12,580 gambling on Sept 8

[email protected]

 

[rolleyez]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


Updated: 08/20/2013 14:01 | By Channel NewsAsia

CPIB assistant director charged with 21 offences engages lawyer

SINGAPORE: The assistant director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) charged in July with 21 offences including misappropriation and forgery has engaged a defence lawyer to make representations.

39-year-old Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong has engaged Tan Hee Joek to represent him.

Yeo is accused of eight counts of misappropriation totalling more than S$1.7 million.

The head of field research and technical support allegedly misappropriated the money intended to be used for buying goods required by the department.

Yeo faces one count of forgery.

He is also charged with 12 counts under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

For these 12 charges, he allegedly used some S$241,000 that was deposited into his bank account for gaming activities at Marina Bay Sands Casino.

The offences were said to have been committed between 2008 and September 2012.

During the last court session, the bespectacled man asked for time to settle his family affairs, as well as make his own representations and prepare for mitigation.

At that time, Yeo said he did not plan to engage a counsel and also asked for a lower bail amount.

Bail was fixed at S$500,000 and remains the same.

If he is convicted of misappropriation, Yeo could face life imprisonment and a fine for every charge.

For forgery, one can be jailed up to four years and fined.

If found guilty of using benefits from criminal conduct, Yeo could face a maximum of seven years' jail and a S$500,000 fine on each charge.

The case will be mentioned on 19 September. - CNA/xq

 

[StarshipTroopers]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


CPIB assistant director to plead guilty to fraud charges

Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong, who allegedly misappropriated more than S$1.7m, indicates he will enter guilty plea to 21 offences including forgery

PUBLISHED: 27 DECEMBER, 11:34 AM

SINGAPORE — Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong, who is accused of misappropriating S$1.76 million of public funds, today (Dec 27) indicated that he will plead guilty to the charges.

Yeo was charged with 21 offences, including misappropriation and forgery, in July. He is expected to plead guilty in the Subordinate Courts on Jan 21, after the prosecution and defence meet on Jan 6 to sort out outstanding matters.

The 39-year-old, who is interdicted from his Assistant Director post with the CPIB’s Field Research and Technical Support Branch, allegedly pilfered money that was meant for the purchase of goods required by his department between 2008 and September last year.

He is said to have gambled S$241,000 away at the Marina Bay Sands casino.

Yeo faces one count of forgery and another 12 counts under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

If convicted of misappropriation, Yeo could face life imprisonment and a fine for every charge.

For forgery, a person can be jailed up to four years and fined.

If found guilty of using benefits from criminal conduct, Yeo could face a maximum of seven years’ jail and a S$500,000 fine on each count. CHANNEL NEWSASIA

 

[Montagut]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m


Updated: 01/06/2014 17:22 | By Channel NewsAsia

Lawyers in CPIB assistant director's case to meet ahead of court date

SINGAPORE: Lawyers in the case involving the assistant director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) will meet again on January 13.

This is to iron out issues in the lead-up to the court date for 39-year-old Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong.

Yeo was charged in July 2013 with 21 offences, including misappropriation and forgery.

He has indicated he will plead guilty to the charges.

Typically, the issues to be sorted before a court date would include facts that will be raised in mitigation to ensure they are not contended.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Navin Thevar told reporters -- following a meeting between the prosecution and defence on Monday afternoon -- that the date for Yeo to plead guilty is still set for January 21.

Yeo allegedly misappropriated more than S$1.7 million, intended for buying goods required by his department.

Yeo, who was then head of field research and technical support, also faces one count of forgery.

He faces another 12 counts under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

Those charges are related to allegations that he used some S$241,000 that was deposited into his bank account for gaming activities at Marina Bay Sands casino.

The offences were said to have been committed between 2008 and September 2012.

If convicted of misappropriation, Yeo could face life imprisonment and a fine for every charge.

For forgery, a person can be jailed up to four years and fined.

If found guilty of using benefits from criminal conduct, Yeo could face a maximum of seven years' jail and a S$500,000 fine on each count. - CNA/nd

 

[songsongjurong]

Re: CPIB assistant director Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong charged with misappropriating $1.7 m

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/singapore/former-cpib-assistant/1006450.html

Bugger gonna squad for 10years... got remission 1/3 discount?



Former CPIB assistant director jailed 10 years
A
A+
20 Feb 2014 18:07
SINGAPORE: Former assistant director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for misappropriating more than S$1.75 million and committing forgery.

The judge on Thursday noted that only a small fraction of the funds -- S$65,000 -- that were misappropriated had been recovered.

Yeo, who worked at the CPIB for 15 years, had committed the offences between 2009 and 2012.

The 39-year-old had misappropriated the funds for personal expenditures like credit card payments and gambling debts.

He had incurred losses of about S$740,000 from gambling at casinos as well as through bets placed with Singapore Pools.

The prosecution withdrew one charge, while the remaining 16 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

As a public servant, the maximum punishment for misappropriation is life imprisonment, or up to 20 years' jail and a fine.