A former facilities manager at St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) was jailed for 15 months on 30 Oct for receiving over S$67,000 in bribes.
58-year-old Ng Cher Him would tell vendors to add additional amounts to quotations given to the institution on 38 Malcolm Road.
They were told to pay these additional amounts to him in cash to avoid leaving a paper trail.
For a period of more than four years, from around 2018 to 2022, Ng obtained bribes amounting to at least S$67,100.
This amount was accumulated from over 31 different occasions and three different vendors.
His job as facilities manager meant he oversaw general upkeep, maintenance and improvement work on the facilities of SJI, as well as vendor management.
To award jobs to preferred vendors, Ng would reveal the school’s budget and competitors’ bids.
He even directly advised vendors on crafting quotations to the school.
Source: MOE
Renee Song Mui Kuan, Ooi Kim Wei, and Margaret Chin Lee Lan were charged with Ng in September.
The three are alleged to have given him bribes, though their cases are still pending.
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) received information about Ng’s corruption and started an investigation on 30 Sept 2022.
He resigned from SJI voluntarily on 2 Nov 2023.
Ng claimed that he needed the money for growing personal debts and family expenses.
In September this year, he voluntarily surrendered S$59,600 to the state.
Apart from his 15 months and four weeks jail sentence, Ng has also been ordered to pay a penalty of S$7,500.
If he is unable to do so, he will serve four extra weeks in jail.
For his offence of corruption, he could have been fined up to S$100,000, jailed up to five years, or both.
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Featured image adapted from MOE and bongkarngraphic on Canva. Images for illustration purposes only.