SCDF and CNB chiefs on bail, in separate investigations

[Millennium Falcon]

Ng Boon Gay recounts 30 sex acts with Cecilia Sue

By Rachel Scully
RazorTV
Tuesday, Nov 20, 2012
SINGAPORE - Ex-Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay said that he and former IT sales executive were in an ongoing sexual relationship for three years from 2009-2011.

He took to the witness stand on Monday after District Judge Siva Shanmugam rejected his lawyer's proposal for the case to be dismissed.

Mr Ng was the first of three defence witnesses to be called.

In his oral testimony, he painted a completely different picture of his relationship with Cecilia Sue.

He insisted that there was no break-up, as suggested by the prosecution, and disagreed with Ms Sue's oral testimony that they were just friends.

He said that the 10 occasions where Ms sue performed oral sex did not give a complete picture.

During their three-year relationship, there were at least 20-30 times they were sexually intimate.

On the charges he's facing, Mr Ng disagreed with Ms Sue's account of the four alleged offences.

She had previously said that she was forced to perform oral sex out of fear and that the sexual act was not completed as it lasted for split seconds to minutes, leaving Mr Ng angry.

However, Mr Ng said the meetings were initiated by Ms Sue and that the sexual trysts in her car lasted for 20 to 30 minutes each time, and that the sexual act was completed for the first three alleged offences.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Ng admits to 3-year affair with Cecilia

By Joy Fang
My Paper
Tuesday, Nov 20, 2012

SINGAPORE - Contrary to what former IT sales manager Cecilia Sue Siew Nang said in her court testimony and statements, she and former Central Narcotics Bureau director Ng Boon Gay had between 20 and 30 sexual encounters in their three-year relationship, and not once was it forced.

Taking the stand for the first time yesterday on Day 10 of the sex-for-contracts trial, Ng, 46, said he was having an extramarital affair with Ms Sue, 36, from 2009 to December last year. They would meet once or twice a week and contact each other regularly via text messages and phone calls.

During the affair, they had engaged in "hugging, kissing, petting and oral sex", he said. They also had sexual intercourse at a serviced apartment at Great World City in June 2009, he said.

"That was the only time because shortly after that Cecilia got pregnant and we were worried about whether the child could be mine," Ng said yesterday.

But their relationship and other sexual intimacies continued, he said. They stopped only when she was in the advanced stages of pregnancy as "it was not convenient". He also stressed that there was never a "break" in the relationship between August 2010 and July last year.

Ng is charged with four counts of obtaining sexual gratification from Ms Sue between June and December last year. The prosecution's case is that the oral sex during this period was forced because they had broken up.

Ng said he did not know why Ms Sue said he forced her, as she was "clearly a willing party". The four encounters he was charged with "were no different from all other occasions when we had sexual intimacy", he said. For instance, between August 2010 and July last year, there were several other occasions when they had oral sex, said Ng, which indicated they did not break up during this time.

These included those in December 2010 and February last year, at places such as East Coast Park and Mount Faber and along Dempsey Road.

"It was quite a routine for us to proceed to quiet spots after our dates, meals or drinks, if we had the time, to spend some intimate moments," he said.

Halifax Road carpark - listed by Ms Sue as the location of one of 10 instances when he had allegedly forced her to give him oral sex - was "one of the normal places that we went to", he said, recalling at least five other occasions they had gone there.

Ng also said both of them would take turns initiating the sexual acts. The acts they engaged in were "completed", and he was never angry, neither did she display any fear on any of the occasions, he noted.

Ng revealed that Ms Sue always insisted on meeting him just before he was due to go on business trips, and was prone to "jealousy" when his trips involved the company of his wife. He will take the stand again today.

[email protected]

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Ng felt pressured to plead guilty

AsiaOne
Tuesday, Nov 20, 2012

SINGAPORE - Threatened by public embarrassment, former Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) chief Ng Boon Gay said he felt pressured to plead guilty on charges of corruption, it was revealed in court on Tuesday.

Ng said in court that he felt pressured by Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) deputy director Mr Teng Khee Fatt to plead guilty or face embarrassing media publicity.

Teng had called Ng into the CPIB office for an interview on March 9, and told him that there would only be one charge and no deterrent sentence if he pleaded guilty.

According to Ng, Teng also said that if he pleaded guilty, the case would be heard in chambers and that names would be kept secret.

However, if he did not plead guilty, Teng would "drag out all parties and families through the m&d," Ng said.

Ng then told his lawyers to complain with the Attorney-General's Chambers about what Teng allegedly said to him.

In a letter written to the Attorney-General's Chambers, his lawyers said "This conduct of an officer trying to achieve what he believes to be a favourable outcome to a highly publicised and scrutinised CPIB investigation is wholly inappropriate."

His lawyer Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng read out a portion of the letter in court.

The former CNB director also told the court that Ms Cecilia Sue would sometimes ask him how much he loved her on a scale from one to 10.

He said he would grade his love for her at six or seven because he was married and could not love her fully.

He also said that Sue had questioned if he would leave his wife and said that they could have been together if they had met each other earlier.

[email protected]

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Ng gives different side to 'sexcapades'

During the trial on Monday, Ng Boon Gay's wife, Madam Yap Yen Yen, stoically stared ahead as usual but she was seen dabbing her eyes at certain points of the cross-examination as when Ng admitted to having an affair with Cecilia Sue.

The New Paper
Thursday, Nov 22, 2012

SINGAPORE - Ng Boon Gay was asked in court specifically about the times and places he had sex with Ms Cecilia Sue - incidents that she had previously described.

1. CARPARK AT PRINCE EDWARD ROAD: (in 2009)

MS SUE SAID (in a CPIB statement): "It was the first time Boon Gay forced me. I was very sore about it because he broke my favourite accessory."

NG SAID: This was definitely not the first time they had an "intimate moment" because he remembers their first encounter being at a carpark in East Coast Park. He also said he was "sure there was no occasion where anything was forced".

2. SERVICED APARTMENT AT GREAT WORLD CITY (June 2009)

SHE SAID (in a CPIB statement): Ng had taken her to the apartment where he hugged and kissed her and began undressing himself.

"We ended up in the bedroom. I was still clothed while Boon Gay was naked on the bed." They had sex. "But it was very fast, he did not ejaculate into me." She then performed oral sex on him.

SHE SAID (in court): "He hugged me from behind. I tried to break free. I was shocked at the time. I tried to hit on some of the chairs, thinking they would break. Everything happened so fast and I just wanted to get out of the place.

"I was shocked to see that he was undressing himself. And that's when I quickly ran off." She later said that if they had sex, "it would have been rape".

HE SAID: He was going to check out an apartment he had rented for his mother as her room at home was being renovated. Ms Sue wanted to meet, so he asked her to join him.

"We chatted in the living room and proceeded to the bedroom."

Ng said that this was the only occasion when they had sexual intercourse but ended it quickly as they were unprotected. She then performed oral sex on him.

3. SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS' MESS (second half of 2009)

HE SAID: The two regularly met up for meals and drinks. After that, "we would usually proceed to a quiet spot to spend some intimate moments".

 

[Millennium Falcon]

'She was jealous and sulky'

By Andre Yeo
The New Paper
Thursday, Nov 22, 2012

SINGAPORE - Ng Boon Gay's wife, Madam Yap Yen Yen, met Ms Cecilia Sue twice, unaware at the time that she was having a sexual relationship with him.

And on at least two occasions when Madam Yap was supposed to have met him, he was receiving oral sex from Ms Sue.

These were some of the awkward moments the former CNB chief faced as he tried to keep his affair a secret. Ng's lawyer, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, had asked him if Ms Sue knew who his wife was and if they had met before.

First meeting

This was at a Chinese New Year gathering hosted by a mutual friend. "I remember I brought my wife along and Cecilia was there and they were introduced," Ng said.

Second meeting

This was in April last year and it was uncomfortable for Ng.

Ms Sue had wanted to meet him that evening but he couldn't make it as he was meeting his wife, who was at Clarke Quay with her friends.

Said Ng: "Coincidentally, Cecilia was also there with her friends. She came over to talk to us. Then she went back to her friends. "I recall Cecilia and I exchanged naughty looks while we were queueing at the restroom.

"Cecilia was upset why I did not meet her and had gone to meet my wife.

"She was jealous and sulky." Mr Tan asked Ng if his wife knew about the affair.

With Madam Yap looking on from the gallery, Ng said: "No, she did not know."

'Other woman' before wife

On Dec 9 last year, just before Ng met Madam Yap for an anniversary dinner, Ms Sue performed oral sex on him at a carpark at Singapore General Hospital.

He said: "I got into her car and she hugged and kissed me, and we engaged in oral sex for a short while because the place was not conducive and I had to rush off for my dinner appointment."

On another occasion, he was supposed to have picked up his wife from the airport after she returned from an overseas trip. But he could not do so as Ms Sue was performing oral sex on him at Mount Faber, Ng said.

In one of her CPIB statements, Ms Sue said that on Aug 26, 2010, they had oral sex at Mount Faber after having dinner at The Scarlet Hotel in Chinatown.

On Monday, Ng said Ms Sue was supposed to have taken him back to his office after dinner.

Said Ng: "But we detoured to Mount Faber, where we had sexual intimacy. As a result, I did not go to the airport to pick (up) my wife."

 

[Millennium Falcon]

We had oral sex, 20-30 times: Ng Boon Gay

By Andre Yeo and Elizabeth Law
The New Paper
Thursday, Nov 22, 2012

SINGAPORE - She performed oral sex on him so often, he could not recall exactly how many times she had done it.

Asked about the number of times they had done it, Ng Boon Gay, 46, paused for a while, as if to do a mental calculation, before replying that it was 20 to 30 times.

The former Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) director was testifying in his corruption trial after taking the stand for the first time yesterday. It was Day 10 of the trial, which is scheduled for 18 days.

He is accused of receiving oral sex on four occasions from Ms Cecilia Sue, 36, a former senior sales manager at Oracle Corporation Singapore and a former sales manager at Hitachi Data Systems.

Ng is accused of obtaining sexual gratification to further the business interest of the two companies. Ng took the stand after District Judge Siva Shanmugam ruled that he had a case to answer to.

Ng's lawyer, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, had argued earlier this month that his client should be acquitted as the prosecution had a weak case.

When Ng took the stand at 2.40pm, Mr Tan wasted little time in asking him about his relationship with Ms Sue.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Prosecution accuses Ng Boon Gay of lying to CPIB

By Claire Huang | Posted: 23 November 2012 1317 hrs

Former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay (C) arriving at the Subordinate Courts (Channel NewsAsia file picture)

SINGAPORE: The prosecution in the trial of former Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) chief Ng Boon Gay continued attempting to impeach Ng's credibility on Friday.

Lead prosecutor Tan Ken Hwee accused Ng of lying to the Corrupt Practices and Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

He insisted Ng in fact, knew that Hitachi was sub-contracted for a CNB IT project.

46-year-old Ng, is accused of obtaining oral sex from 36-year-old Cecilia Sue, in exchange for helping to further her employers' business interests.

Ms Sue, a former IT sales executive, was employed by Hitachi Data Systems and Oracle Singapore at the time of the alleged offences.

Ng had apparently said in his statement to the CPIB that he did not know Hitachi supplied CNB's data storage system, but DPP Tan disputed this.

He said Ng had told the court he knew that Hitachi was involved in the first phase of the project.

Hence, it was only natural that Ng would have been involved in the second phase of the project.

In court on Friday, Ng explained that he did not know the main contractor had appointed Hitachi as a sub-contractor.

DPP Tan then accused Ng of embellishing and fabricating his relationship with Ms Sue, to support his version of the affair.

Ng disagreed with DPP Tan's allegation.

On Thursday, the prosecution had made seven applications to impeach Ng's credibility.

The trial continues.

- CNA/xq

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Court impeaches credibility of Ng Boon Gay

By Claire Huang | Posted: 22 November 2012 2327 hrs

Former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay (L) and his wife (R) leave during a lunch break after testifying at the Subordinate Courts in Singapore on November 19, 2012. (AFP/ROSLAN RAHMAN)

SINGAPORE: District Judge Siva Shanmugam decided on Thursday to allow the prosecution's seven applications to impeach the credibility of former Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) chief Ng Boon Gay.

The judge will decide at the close of trial which parts of Ng's evidence to take into consideration.

Ng, 46, is accused of obtaining oral sex from 36-year-old Ms Cecilia Sue, a former IT sales representative, in exchange for helping to further the business interests of her employers.

The prosecution said in court on Thursday that Ng had not only fabricated his evidence in court but also lied to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

Three of the seven impeachment applications relate to oral sex while the rest concern Ms Sue's conversations with Ng on the IT products.

In Ng's CPIB statement, he said Ms Sue asked if CNB was interested in any particular software.

However the prosecution pointed out that Ng had testified minutes earlier in court that the IT product discussion did not relate to CNB in particular.

This led the prosecution to say that Ng had lied and that the discussion occurred when Ms Sue told him she could get CNB a discount.

Ms Sue had previously testified in court that she told Ng she managed to get a discount for CNB with regard to a project she was working on, and added that Ng had thanked her.

Ng however disagreed with the prosecution.

The prosecution also accused Ng of lying in court about the number of sexual encounters he had with Ms Sue.

Ng had told the CPIB that Ms Sue was a "part-time lover" and that the couple engaged in sexual intimacy "on and off".

He however testified in court that sexual intimacies were a routine and that he and Ms Sue had oral sex 20 to 30 times in the course of their affair.

The former CNB chief also said in court that he only came to know that Hitachi Data Systems, Ms Sue's former employer, was involved in the project after it was awarded.

However the prosecution pointed out that Ng's CPIB statement indicated he was not aware Hitachi was involved in the project.

Ng then explained that he made the statement in the context of the investigating officer's query.

The prosecution also accused Ng of "embellishing" his relationship with Ms Sue, and charged that Ng had lied when he said Ms Sue never asked for a break up.

The trial continues.

- CNA/jc

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Prosecution files 3 more applications to impeach Ng Boon Gay

By Claire Huang | Posted: 23 November 2012 2029 hrs

Former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay (C) and his wife (R) leave during a lunch break after testifying at the Subordinate Courts in Singapore. (AFP - Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE: The prosecution made another three applications to impeach former Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) chief Ng Boon Gay Ng at the close of his corruption trial on Friday.

These are on top of the seven made on Thursday, which were approved by the presiding judge.

46-year-old Ng is accused of forcing 36-year-old Cecilia Sue to perform oral sex in exchange for helping to further her employers' business interests.

Ms Sue, a former IT sales executive, was employed by Hitachi Data Systems and Oracle Singapore at the time of the alleged offences.

On day 14 of the hearing on Friday, the prosecution accused Ng of lying to the Corrupt Practices and Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and insisted that Ng knew Hitachi was a sub-contractor for the CNB IT project.

Ng denied the charge.

The prosecution brought up Ng's CPIB statement, which said he did not know Hitachi supplied CNB's data storage system.

This contradicted with the former CNB chief's earlier testimony in court, where he said he knew that Hitachi was involved in the first phase of the IT project.

The prosecution also accused Ng of embellishing and fabricating his relationship with Ms Sue to support his version of the affair.

When questioned by the defence, Ng denied that Ms Sue had performed oral sex on him as he was an important client, saying that she "would never do such a thing for such a purpose".

Ng also refuted the suggestion that he embellished his relationship with Ms Sue, saying they only avoided sex during her pregnancy.

He also continued to insist that there was no conflict of interest when he approved the IT projects.

Sharon Yan, Human Resources director of Oracle also testified in court on Friday.

Ms Sue joined Oracle as a senior sales manager after leaving Hitachi in November 2011.

Ms Yan testified that she sent an email to Oracle's legal team in June 2012 after an interview with Ms Sue regarding the allegations.

Written submissions are expected from the defence and prosecution in mid-January.

Both sides will then give a summary of their cases to court in late January.

- CNA/jc

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Trysts in car - it can't be love: DPP

Ng and his wife arriving at court on Tuesday. He told the court that both he and Ms Sue were married and had wanted to keep their affair quiet. Taking her to a hotel room would have been "too obvious".

By Tham Yuen-c
The Straits Times
Friday, Nov 23, 2012

SINGAPORE - If it was really love between Ng Boon Gay and Ms Cecilia Sue, surely they would have enjoyed private moments in hotel rooms, chalets or even gone on trips, the prosecution argued on Tuesday.

Instead, all of their 20 to 30 sexual encounters - bar one - had happened in a parked car.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Ken Hwee raised the circumstances surrounding the couple's meetings as he sought to cast doubt on the love affair which Ng had painted.

Ng's case is that he did not corruptly ask Ms Sue for sexual favours the four times they had oral sex last year. Instead, the encounters had been part of a three-year consensual relationship that had involved sex.

Cross-examining him yesterday, DPP Tan sought to show that the couple were not as close as Ng had claimed, and that the situation was closer to her version, in which she said that Ng had forced himself on her.

Ng had revealed on Monday that he and Ms Sue had sexual intercourse just once, in 2009, at a Great World City serviced apartment.

The DPP asked him on Tuesday: "You have given testimony that it was such a memorable occasion at Great World City, so wouldn't you want to make sure there was a repeat of that memorable moment?"

Ng said that both he and Ms Sue were married and had wanted to keep their affair quiet.

"We wanted to keep our affair secret, we didn't want people to know, so I can't be bringing her, for example, to a hotel room," he said, as his wife Yap Yen Yen listened in the public gallery. "That would be too obvious."

Because of that, the couple had stuck to their trysts in Ms Sue's car. "We were happy with our intimacy in the car," he said.

Carparks, he added, were a safer place to have oral sex than hotel rooms or chalets, because there was less chance of being discovered.

Besides, said Ng, sex was not always on the agenda when they met.

"We normally met up for meals or a drink or chit chat and if we were in the right mood and we had the time we would proceed to some secluded spot for our sexual intimacy," he said.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

'CPIB tried to force graft confession'

By Tham Yuen-c
The Straits Times
Friday, Nov 23, 2012

SINGAPORE - The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) tried to force him to admit to corruption even though he had protested his innocence, said Ng Boon Gay on Tuesday.

CPIB's deputy director of investigations Teng Khee Fatt, he said, had even tried to capitalise on his father's death to get him to confess to graft charges.

Ng said he was facing immense stress from the media coverage of his case when he was interviewed by Mr Teng on March 9 this year.

His father had also died less than a fortnight before that interview at CPIB.

Mr Teng knew all this, and capitalised on it, he said, as he was examined by his lawyer Tan Chee Meng.

"He was trying to use pressure to make me plead guilty and he knew I was under tremendous stress at that time because of media scrutiny," he said.

He paused, then added: "As well as the death of my father."

At this point, he was seen wiping tears from his eyes - the only time in his two days on the stand that he cried.

He told the court that during the March 9 interview - his third and last - Mr Teng asked him to admit to corruption.

Ng said he had gone to the bureau to record his statement and was offered a deal: either plead guilty and face one charge, or reject the offer and risk being dragged through the m&d.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

Lawyers' heated exchange

Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng (above), lawyer for Ng Boon Gay, raised his objection that DPP Tan Ken Hwee was misleading his client by asking questions in a roundabout manner.

By Shaffiq Alkhatib
The New Paper
Saturday, Nov 24, 2012

SINGAPORE - There were a few tense moments in Court 5 on Wednesday when the opposing lawyers crossed swords.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Ken Hwee spent about 90 minutes cross-examining Ng Boon Gay about the details of the IT system proposals and whether or not there had been a conflict of interest.

He was focusing on the same areas that he had covered on Tuesday.

Raised objection

By about 11.20am, Ng's defence lawyer, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, raised his objection that DPP Tan was misleading his client by asking questions in a roundabout manner.

DPP Tan interjected and tried to cut him off.

In response, Mr Tan said: "Please allow me the courtesy to at least read out what you asked."

District Judge Siva Shanmugam stepped in and said he would allow cross-examination to continue if DPP Tan kept in mind the defence lawyer's concerns on not misleading Ng.

The questioning hit a speed bump less than 20 minutes later when Mr Tan again voiced his objections.

"We have been on the same questions since yesterday, but how far can we go? There can be no further knowledge when the answers are all the same," he said.

When DPP Tan tried to cut him off again, Mr Tan asked the prosecutor to allow him to finish talking "since I have given you the courtesy to finish your sentences".

The judge intervened yet again and told DPP Tan that he would allow the cross-examination to continue "if you give me your assurance that you will be moving on to other issues".

On these two occasions, Ng was told to leave the stand and was taken to the witness room.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

The case so far

The New Paper
Saturday, Nov 24, 2012

SINGAPORE - Former Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) director Ng Boon Gay took the stand on Monday during his corruption trial.

He faces four counts of corruptly receiving oral sex from MsCecilia Sue, a former sales manager with Hitachi Data Systems. She later joined Oracle Corporation Singapore as a senior sales manager. Both companies provide IT products to government agencies, including CNB.

Ms Sue had allegedly performed the sex acts on Ng between July and December last year so that he would favour her companies when awarding IT contracts.

As CNB director, Ng had the final say as to which companies get contracts.

During his testimony, he repeatedly denied any corruption and said that he and Ms Sue had been in a relationship.

When Ms Sue testified for the prosecution in September, she said Ng had forced her to give him oral sex, contradicting her earlier statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau that they had been in a relationship.

Ng's defence later applied to have her credibility impeached.

But the prosecution argued she was a credible witness except for when she denied having an affair with Ng.

The trial is expected to conclude early next week.

 

[Orochi]

Sex-for-contracts case: Ex-SCDF chief's trial to start on Jan 14

The Straits Times
Friday, Dec 07, 2012

SINGAPORE - Lim, who faces 10 counts of corruption in a sex-for-contracts case similar to former anti-drug agency chief Ng Boon Gay's, will go on trial from Jan 14 to 16. A second tranche will take place in February.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Trial of ex-SCDF chief to start in February
Posted: 08 January 2013 1326 hrs

Former SCDF chief Peter Lim (L) coming out of court. (MediaCorp/File)

SINGAPORE: The corruption trial of former Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) chief Peter Lim will start next month.

The trial was originally scheduled to start in the middle of this month, but will now start in February as the lead prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng has to undergo surgery following an injury.

The case will be heard in court on 18 February.

The trial is expected to end in March.

Lim faces 10 counts of corruption in a sex-for-contracts case similar to the case involving former anti-drug agency chief Ng Boon Gay.

Key witness Ms Pang Chor Mui from Nimrod Engineering is expected to take the stand.

The nine remaining charges, which involve sex with two other women, have been stood down for now. They will be dealt with separately.

- CNA/al

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Ex-CNB chief's defence asks court not to convict innocent man
By Claire Huang | Posted: 28 January 2013 1257 hrs

Former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay (C) arriving at the Subordinate Courts (Channel NewsAsia file picture)

SINGAPORE: The defence in the corruption trial of the former chief of the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), Ng Boon Gay, has asked the court not to convict an innocent man just to bring home the message that corruption is wrong.

Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, who is defending Ng, made the statement in his closing arguments on Monday morning.

Ng, 46, is accused of obtaining oral sex from 36-year-old Cecilia Sue, a former IT sales representative, in exchange for helping to further the business interests of her employers.

Mr Tan pressed the prosecution to nail the evidence in the case.

Mr Tan said a criminal trial is not prosecuted based on general principles and arguments but evidence on which the accused can be convicted.

He pointed to the so-called inconsistencies with which the prosecution had sought to impeach Ng.

He argued that the prosecution picked and chose selected parts of Ng's statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and took them out of context.

The defence pointed out that Ng did not influence CNB's procurement of projects with NCS and Jardine OneSolution.

Mr Tan said all procurement processes were complied with and that Ms Sue never asked Ng for favours, nor did she expect favours from Ng.

But Mr Tan admitted that there was a non-declaration conflict by Ng. However, he maintained that this in itself does not amount to corruption.

Given all these factors, he argued that the only possibility left for the prosecution is to base its case on future favours, which the defence said does not make sense.

Mr Tan said the prosecution's case is internally inconsistent and that it is dangerous to convict Ng on Ms Sue's evidence.

He said the prosecution had acknowledged that its key witness had lied in court but had taken "a blinkered approach with selective references to the evidence" and made submissions "without any evidential basis".

Mr Tan stressed that the prosecution is asking the judge to speculate, in the absence of evidence, as to what went on in Ms Sue's mind and what went through Ng's mind.

"We do not come before the court to read minds. It would be totally unsafe to base a conviction on this," said Mr Tan.

- CNA/al

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Prosecution, defence wrap up arguments in trial of ex-CNB chief
By Claire Huang | Posted: 28 January 2013 1721 hrs

Former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay (C) and his wife (R) leave during a lunch break after testifying at the Subordinate Courts in Singapore. (AFP File - Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE: The former chief of the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), Ng Boon Gay, was back in court on Monday, as the prosecution and defence presented their closing arguments.

Ng, 46, is accused of obtaining oral sex from 36-year-old Cecilia Sue, a former IT sales representative, in exchange for helping to further the business interests of her employers between July and December 2011.

Lead prosecutor Tan Ken Hwee, in his closing arguments, posed this question -- why would Ms Sue perform oral sex on Ng?

The lead prosecutor said the basic facts of the case are that Ng obtained sexual favours from a sales representative interested in closing deals with the CNB and that he had never declared the conflict of interests to the bureau.

He said Ms Sue had told Ng the deals she was pursuing, but Ng never once told her that he would disqualify himself from any decision-making relating to those IT procurements.

A key point was raised over the timing during which Ng had demanded the various sexual favours.

Going through the four charges, DPP Tan said Ng consistently asked for and received the favours either before or after the approval of papers required in awarding the IT contracts.

In the first charge, he said Ng demanded and got oral sex from Ms Sue in July 2011, two months before he approved a paper for the SRMS procurement.

In the second instance, Ng allegedly demanded and received oral sex from Ms Sue in November 2011, around the time he approved another paper for the SRMS project on 15 November 2011.

The prosecution charged that Ng demanded oral sex from Ms Sue after their celebratory dinner as the SRMS contract was awarded to Hitachi Data Systems, Ms Sue's then-employer.

DPP Tan pointed out that it was at the same dinner that Ng asked Ms Sue to explore options of another deal with the CNB's IT team.

He also pointed to the 9 December 2011 fellatio incident which made up the fourth charge.

He said it took place "a mere week after the aforesaid dinner at Keppel Marina".

DPP Tan added that from July to November 2011, while Ms Sue went along with casual meet-ups, Ng's invitations to Kranji chalet and a trip to Macau were rejected by her.

Having left Hitachi for Oracle in November 2011, Ms Sue also discussed her move with Ng and sought his views.

The prosecution also pointed to what it described as "glaring discrepancy" of Ng's evidence that their relationship didn't come to an end in September/ October 2010.

Ng had alleged various sexual encounters that allegedly took place after that period and before July 2011.

DPP Tan said Ng "gave remarkably detailed and often lurid accounts of these encounters and even linked them via temporal 'markers'" such as the 2011 General Elections.

"What is telling, however, is that when Cecilia was cross-examined, she was never asked about nor confronted with these alleged encounters," said DPP Tan.

This, he said, meant that Ng's credibility had been "irreparably impeached".

Another example that Ng lied in court was when he told anti-graft officers he didn't know about Ms Sue's work when in fact, she consulted him for each of her career moves.

In rounding up his arguments, DPP Tan said as a civil servant and one who had the authority to make decisions, the burden of proving he had received gratification legitimately, was on Ng.

Addressing the court after lunch, he stressed that the trial is not about policing morality or marital vows.

He said it would be sufficient to prove Ng had been corrupt, as long as Ng had reason to suspect that one reason Ms Sue performed sexual favours was to induce him to show her company favour.

DPP Tan told the court that under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the law allows the presumption of corrupt intent and these factors triggered the presumption of corrupt intent.

The defence, which made its closing arguments in the morning, asked the court not to convict an innocent man just to bring home the message that corruption is wrong.

Ng's lawyer Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, in turn, asked - where is the evidence?

Mr Tan said a criminal trial is not prosecuted based on general principles and arguments but evidence on which the accused can be convicted.

He pointed to the so-called inconsistencies with which the prosecution had sought to impeach Ng.

He argued that the prosecution picked selected parts of Ng's statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and took them out of context.

Mr Tan pointed out that Ng did not influence CNB's procurement of projects with NCS and Jardine OneSolution.

He said all procurement processes were complied with and that Ms Sue never asked Ng for favours, nor did she expect favours from Ng.

Mr Tan said the defence's case is that despite an ongoing relationship with Ms Sue, there was no conflict of interest.

He also pointed out that for the rise in a conflict of interest, Ng and Ms Sue had to be in a relationship in relation to the NCS and Jardine projects.

But prosecution's case is currently based on the fact that the two broke up in September/ October 2010.

"If there was no relationship between Ms Sue and the accused, why would there be a conflict of interest that the accused had to declare?" said Mr Tan.

He further explained that for the NCS project, Ng did not know until after it was awarded that Hitachi was involved.

As for the Jardine project, no conflict of interest arose as it was "simply a continuation of the NCS project".

Mr Tan said the prosecution's entire case is based on the break-up between Ng and Ms Sue.

But he pointed out that despite Ms Sue's claims that she was forced to perform sexual favours, she continued to send him suggestive text messages.

On defence not raising the sexual encounters that were mentioned by Ng, supposedly after their break-up, Mr Tan said prosecution's reference to this only showed "a lack of good evidence" as well as its "keen awareness of the unreliability of their key witness' evidence".

Mr Tan said the prosecution's case is "internally inconsistent" and that it is dangerous to convict Ng on Ms Sue's evidence.

He said the prosecution had acknowledged that its key witness had lied in court but had taken "a blinkered approach with selective references to the evidence" and made submissions "without any evidential basis".

Mr Tan stressed that the prosecution is asking the judge to speculate, in the absence of evidence as to what went on in Ms Sue's mind and what went through Ng's mind.

"We do not come before the court to read minds. It would be totally unsafe to base a conviction on this," said Mr Tan.

Now that both sides have presented their closing arguments, Ng is expected back in court on February 14, when District Judge Siva Shanmugam will deliver his judgement.

- CNA/al/fa

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Court to deliver Ng Boon Gay sex-for-contracts verdict
By Claire Huang | Posted: 14 February 2013 0618 hrs

Former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay (L) and his wife (R) leave during a lunch break after testifying at the Subordinate Courts in Singapore on November 19, 2012. (AFP/ROSLAN RAHMAN)

SINGAPORE: The verdict for the sex-for-contracts corruption case involving former Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) chief Ng Boon Gay will be revealed on Thursday afternoon.

The 46-year-old was charged in June 2012 with four counts of obtaining sexual favours from 36-year-old Ms Cecilia Sue, who was a sales manager for two IT vendors.

Ng had allegedly breached the Prevention of Corruption Act by engaging in sexual acts with Ms Sue on four occasions between June and December 2011.

Ms Sue was a sales manager with Hitachi Data Systems from June to November 2011, and subsequently joined Oracle Corporation Singapore in December 2011 as a senior sales manager.

Ng is accused of furthering the business interests of the two IT companies in their dealings with CNB in exchange for the sexual acts.

After a closely-watched 14-day trial, both the prosecution and defence made their closing arguments on 28 January 2013.

In his closing argument, lead prosecutor Tan Ken Hwee said that the burden of proof was on Ng, as he was a civil servant.

Proving that Ng had suspicions over Ms Sue's motivations for performing the sexual favours was sufficient to prove he was corrupt under provisions of the law, said Mr Tan.

However the defence, led by Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, urged the court not to convict an innocent man just to bring home the message that corruption is wrong.

Senior Counsel Tan said the defence's case is that despite an ongoing relationship with Ms Sue, there was no conflict of interest.

If convicted, Ng can be jailed up to five years and fined a maximum of $100,000 for each count.

- CNA/jc/ck

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Ex-CNB chief found not guilty of corruption
By Claire Huang | Posted: 14 February 2013 1524 hrs

Ng Boon Gay arriving at court on 14 February 2013. (Photo by Don Wong, TODAY).

SINGAPORE: Former Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) chief Ng Boon Gay is not guilty of corruption in a high-profile sex-for-contracts court case.

The verdict was handed down by District Judge Siva Shanmugam on Thursday afternoon.

He gave Mr Ng an acquittal amounting to a discharge, saying there was no corrupt element involved.

The judge added that Mr Ng did not have an ulterior or corrupt motive, and that the four counts of oral sex occurred in the context of his relationship with Ms Cecilia Sue.

He also said he had no reason to believe that Ms Sue's offer of oral sex was intended as an act of inducement.

He added that he did not find Ms Sue "as someone who could easily be taken advantage of".

The judge said the intentions of Ms Sue and Mr Ng were "innocuous".

The prosecution, he said, failed to prove its case.

The judge also found that Ms Sue was not credible as a witness.

He said her explanations on inconsistencies in her statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and evidence in court were inadequate and unconvincing.

Judge Shanmugam found Mr Ng's evidence to be consistent and credible.

Mr Ng, 46, was visibly relieved with the verdict.

After the verdict was read, Mr Ng's wife, Mdm Yap Yen Yen, broke into tears, while some in the public gallery clapped.

Mr Ng's lawyer, Mr Tan Chee Meng, told reporters that they are extremely happy with the outcome.

Mr Tan said: "It's something that we were hoping for. What's most important is that this verdict is a vindication of Ng Boon Gay. The fact that he is not corrupt and his innocence has been proven. They have been through a tough year. There are internal proceedings that is happening which would have to be dealt with. And I think Boon Gay has asked me to express his heartfelt thanks to friends, families and even strangers along the road who gave him support."

He added: "It's very nice to get acquitted on Valentine's Day."

The Attorney-General's Chambers will review the grounds for the judge's decision before deciding on whether it will or will not appeal against the ruling.

He was charged in June last year with four counts of obtaining sexual favours from Ms Sue, who was a sales manager for two IT vendors.

Mr Ng allegedly breached the Prevention of Corruption Act by engaging in sexual acts with Ms Sue on four occasions, between June and December in 2011.

Ms Sue, 36, was the sales manager of Hitachi Data Systems from June to November 2011.

She joined Oracle Corporation Singapore in December in 2011 as its senior sales manager.

Nr Ng was accused of furthering the business interests of the two IT companies in their dealings with CNB in exchange for sexual favours from Ms Sue.

After a closely-watched trial, both the prosecution and defence made their closing arguments late last month.

- CNA/xq

 

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Ex-CNB chief will continue to be suspended from duty
By Saifulbahri Ismail | Posted: 14 February 2013 2005 hrs

SINGAPORE: The Home Affairs Ministry said it is not proceeding with disciplinary action against former CNB chief Ng Boon Gay at the moment.

It said it will wait for the prosecution to decide if it will appeal against the court's decision of finding Mr Ng not guilty of corruption.

The ministry explained if the prosecution does not appeal, internal disciplinary action will continue.

The ministry had commenced civil service disciplinary proceedings against Mr Ng last year on charges of serious personal misconduct.

The disciplinary proceedings were subsequently suspended after corruption charges were brought against him.

Mr Ng had also been interdicted from duties pending the outcome of these proceedings. Interdiction is a key step in the disciplinary process. It includes suspension from duty, as well as the docking of pay.

It is believed that Mr Ng may still face disciplinary action because he had admitted to having an improper relationship with a woman.

Any officer guilty of serious wrongdoing, may be dismissed, demoted or fined.

If the matter is less serious, they may be asked to retire or allowed to resign, or be let off with a warning.

In 2010, the Public Service Commission disciplined 29 officers, 19 of whom were sacked.

- CNA/xq