Duo fined $3,000 for lying about 'corrupt' carpark warden
Published on May 16, 2012
By Khushwant Singh
They agreed to lie for a friend who had used a tampered $1 carpark coupon and on Wednesday, Desmond Cheong Kok Foong, 33, and Soh Chee Kwang, 35, were fined $3,000 each. Both pleaded guilty to making false police statements accusing a parking warden of demanding a $20 bribe from Kelvin Leong Kwok Yin for not reporting the use of the coupon.
Leong, 29, had driven Cheong, Soh, and Domenic Ong Yue Ren to the hawker centre at East Coast Lagoon for dinner. Leong and Cheong are directors of Energy Factory Asia and Kerubin. The first firm deals with energy-related products while the second trades in fashion accessories and Ong, 24, is its sales manager. Soh is a project manager with a different firm.
When placing the parking coupon, Leong merely folded back the tabs instead of tearing them off. Mr Vickneswaran Thevathasan came checking and noticed the tampered coupon. Following procedure, he called his office for backup and Mr Yourneshwaran Sukumaran soon arrived. Leong and friends returned to the car at 8pm. When asked for his particulars by Mr Vickneswaran, Leong drove off with his friends instead.
On Feb 3, 2010, Mr Yourneshwaran reported to the police that he had been pushed by Leong or a friend in their haste to leave the scene. In a police interview about the alleged assault three weeks later, Leong claimed Mr Vickneswaran had demanded a $20 bribe for not reporting the use of a tampered coupon. Leong then told his friends to corroborate his lies, which they did three days later.
Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
