7 people charged with corruption in case linked to Keppel FELS - CNA

SINGAPORE: Seven people were charged with corruption on Wednesday (Oct 14) in a case linked to Keppel FELS.

Three men at the centre of the charges each face 46 counts of abetment. Alvin Lim Wee Lun, Goh Ngak Eng and Rajavikraman Jayapandian are accused of conspiring with one another to corruptly obtain S$879,900 in bribes from three subcontractors.

The alleged offences took place between 2014 and 2017, according to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

Lim was at the time working as a yard manager at Keppel FELS, which provides services for global offshore and marine industries.

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The subcontractors involved are U Keh Choon, the director of Titan Offshore Equipment; Stanley Goh Sheng Li, the director of Spectrama Marine & Industrial Supplies; and Fatkullah Tiap, the managing director of Growa FE.

U faces seven counts of bribery amounting to S$196,700, Stanley Goh has been charged with 21 counts of bribery amounting to S$190,900 and Fatkullah is alleged to have paid 18 bribes amounting to S$492,300.

The bribes were paid through Goh Ngak Eng to further the business interests of the subcontractors’ respective companies with Keppel FELS.

The seventh individual charged was Ong Tun Chai, who received S$15,100 from Goh Ngak Eng for falsifying invoices.

Ong was charged with 10 counts of accepting gratification and 20 counts of falsifying papers that belonged to a logistics company and issuing them to Growa and Titan.

Accordingly, Goh Ngak Eng faces 10 counts of giving gratification to Ong.

Goh and Rajavikraman are also involved in three illegal transactions amounting to S$7,000 in relation to a marine equipment manufacturer.

According to the CPIB, the money was paid to Rajavikraman by Goh Ngak Eng as a “reward” for furthering the company’s business interests.

U is a Singapore permanent resident, while the rest of the men are Singapore citizens.

Stanley Goh intends to plead guilty and was given a date to do so on Nov 13. The rest will return to court for further mentions next month.

“Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption," CPIB said.

"Companies are strongly advised to put in place robust procedures in areas such as procurement and internal audit to prevent falling victim to corrupt acts by their employees."

Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000, sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years or both.

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