Sengkang Town Council (SKTC) has clarified that a project manager charged with corruption offences was not its employee, following a Channel NewsAsia (CNA) report about alleged bribes involving town council contracts.
In a press release seen by MS News on Friday (21 Aug), SKTC said the charges concerned an employee of EM Services, which provided managing agent and project management services to the town council during the period in question.
The clarification comes after senior project manager Phua Gim Chuan, 63, was charged with six corruption and money laundering-related offences.
In a CNA article, Phua was described as an “employee of town council managing agent”.
Source: CNA
“Sengkang Town Council (SKTC) wishes to clarify that the corruption charges referred to in the article concern an employee of EM Services, which provided managing agent and project management services to the Town Council during the period referred to in the article,” a SKTC spokesperson told MS News.
“The individual concerned was not an employee of SKTC.”
Phua was employed by EM Services, which served as the managing agent for Sengkang, Holland-Bukit Panjang and Sembawang town councils during the period covered by the allegations.
SKTC said it had been informed of an investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and had cooperated fully with the authorities.
As a precaution, the town council also asked EM Services to commission an independent external review.
The review was intended to determine whether there had been any compromise to the integrity of the tender process that could have affected the outcome of evaluations.
The SKTC spokesperson also stressed that J&M Construction and Seah & Lim Construction did not participate in its public tenders during the period covered by the allegations.
According to court documents, Phua allegedly received a total of S$220,000 in bribes between March 2020 and January 2023.
He is accused of taking the money from three company directors to advance their business interests in contract proposals involving the town councils.
Source: Facebook
One allegation involved Ng Lee Peng, who allegedly gave Phua S$50,000 in January 2023 to advance J&M Construction’s interests in a proposal involving SKTC.
Another involved Lim Kian Koon, who is accused of giving Phua S$100,000 in December 2022 to advance Seah & Lim Construction’s interests in a proposal involving SKTC.
SKTC said neither company participated in its public tenders during the relevant period.
Phua also allegedly concealed S$90,000 of the alleged bribes by instructing his wife to deposit the money into her personal bank account in December 2022, according to a CPIB press release published on 21 Aug.
Source: Facebook
He allegedly used another S$105,000 to pay for a Mercedes-Benz in January 2023.
The three company directors also face corruption charges in connection with the allegations.
SKTC said it has strict conflict of interest declaration requirements and rigorous tender evaluation processes in place to safeguard the town council’s interests.
Source: Google Maps
The SKTC spokesperson added: “We have put in place measures to strengthen our internal processes, and will continue to work with our partners, including external and internal auditors, to refine our risk management framework and ensure the highest standards of corporate governance.”
The accused individuals are due to appear in court again on 18 Sept, CNA said.
If convicted of corruption offences, individuals can face a fine of up to S$100,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
For corruption offences involving a matter, contract or sub-contract with the Government or a public body, the maximum jail term can be increased to seven years, according to CPIB.
Also Read: 2 S’poreans and 2 M’sians arrested over alleged workplace corruption for about $530K
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps, Facebook and Google Maps.