12 men charged for involvement in scheme to cheat construction firm of S$9.7 million

SINGAPORE: Twelve men were charged on Tuesday (Sep 14) for their alleged involvement in a scheme to cheat construction firm Civil Tech of around S$9.7 million.

The scheme was allegedly hatched by five men, four of whom were employees of the company, said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in a media release.

Gan Kok Leong and Ong Kok Peng were project directors of Civil Tech, Tan Chen Chuan was a group finance manager, while Liauw Lee Meng was a project manager of the company.

The fifth accused, Bong Saik King, was a director of Global Civil Engineering.

Between March and August 2016, the five allegedly submitted claims to Civil Tech through subcontractors, even though the purported work relating to the claims had not been carried out, said CPIB.

The other men, who were subcontractors of Civil Tech, were also charged for their alleged roles in the scheme.

They include Huang Zhiguo, director of Hua Rong Engineering at the time; Ang Lye Soon, director of Dowell Engineering Services; Zhuang He, a director at Hong Hai Construction; and Yu Yingjie, director of Da Ho Foundation (S).

Also named were Wong Mun Kin, a director of Alliance Resources; Seow Yam Seng, director of Rui Feng Engineering and Construction; and Tan Heng Lee, a director of Housing Replacement.

“Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption and other criminal activities,” said CPIB.

Anyone found guilty of an offence to cheat and dishonestly induce a delivery of property can be fined and jailed for up to 10 years.

The same penalties apply to the offence of forgery for the purpose of cheating.

Those convicted of disguising benefits of criminal conduct face a fine of up to S$500,000, a jail term of up to 10 years, or both.