Victor Wong Goes On Trial
If the allegations against Mr Victor Wong are true, then the former Ang Mo Kio Town Council GM has been a very bad man.
Mr Wong faces 55 counts of corruption for allegedly accepting bribes from Mr Chia Sin Lan and Ms Yip Fong Yin. Both Mr Chia and Ms Yip are directors of companies that provide services to town councils.
Court documents accuse Mr Wong of taking bribes totalling over $107,000. His high-profile court case kicked off on Tuesday (25 Sept) and is expected to last the rest of the week.
Here are some of the bribes Mr Wong is accused of taking:
- $30,600: Remittances to his mistress in China
- $5,000: Restaurant bills
- $13,500: Discount on Mr Victor Wong’s Toyota Corolla Altis
- $1,070: Spa treatment in Geylang
- $30 – 35: Stays at Fragrance Hotel and Hotel 81
- $40,000: Entertainment expenses at KTV lounges
- $2,500: Victor Wong’s M1 mobile phone line
Mr Chia’s company also paid part of Mr Wong’s daughter-in-law Le Thi Hien’s salary at an engineering firm.
Responding to the allegations, Mr Wong said he should not have let Mr Chia pay for drinks when they went out together. He also said he shouldn’t have accepted the large discount given on his car. Mr Victor Wong reflected,
I wish to say that it was bad judgment on my part.
The fall of Victor Wong
Mr Victor Wong was removed from duty in September 2016, after a complaint about his alleged corrupt practices. The Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau then stepped in and investigated Mr Wong.
He was charged in March, around a year and a half after the first complaint.
If convicted, Mr Wong and Mr Chia face:
- Fines of up to $100,000
- Jail terms of a maximum of 7 years for each charge
Mr Chia’s company won’t be spared either. It faces a fine of up to $100,000 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Featured image from AllSingaporeStuff.
