 |
| Details of former Ang Mo Kio Town Council general manager Wong Chee Meng's conflicting statements to the authorities were revealed at the first day of his trial on Sept 25, 2018. The court was also told of his marital problems during the period when he allegedly received bribes. |
But just days after that, he admitted his alleged offences to the officers — only to later retract the confession, saying that it was made at a time when he was not thinking clearly.
Details of Wong’s conflicting statements to the authorities were revealed on the first day of his trial on Tuesday (Sept 25). The court was also told of the 58-year-old's marital problems during the period when he allegedly received bribes.
His wife, with whom he has a son and a daughter, divorced him in July 2015 after she discovered that he was having an affair with a KTV hostess of Chinese nationality.
In March, Wong was charged with 55 counts of corruption. Between December 2014 and September 2016, he allegedly took bribes amounting to about S$107,000 in his dealings with companies 19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise, in exchange for town council tenders and contracts worth millions of dollars. The firms deal with general building, repairs and redecoration works.
Chia Sin Lan, 62, who is the director of both companies and who faces a similar set of charges, is also claiming trial. Both men are now out on bail of S$100,000 each.
In his opening statement, Deputy Public Prosecutor Alan Loh told the court that the lion’s share of the bribes — or almost S$53,000 — were in the form of entertainment expenses that Wong and Chia incurred at KTV lounges and massage parlours, which they frequented often at night.
Wong was a former employee of CPG Facilities Management, the managing agent of the town council which serves the Ang Mo Kio public housing estate.
He began working at the town council as a property manager, before he was promoted to general manager in 2013 and was earning S$10,550 a month, the court was told.
During the first three days when he was questioned by CPIB (on Oct 4, 5 and 6 in 2016), Wong revealed that the alleged bribes he received had included a S$13,500 discount on a Toyota Corolla Altis that he bought from Yip Fong Yin, a project director at 19-ANC Enterprise.
He also allegedly received bribes from Chia totalling S$30,600, which were sent to Wong’s mistress Xu Hongmei in the form of overseas remittances.
CONFLICTING STATEMENTS
Taking the stand, CPIB investigator Jeffrey Tan — who had taken Wong’s statements — said that Wong was initially recorded as denying that he had influenced the tender process, and did not favour 19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise when they placed their bids.
But on Oct 7, 2016, Wong’s son called Mr Tan to say that his father wanted to “tell the truth”. Wong later told Mr Tan that he had “not been sleeping well” since CPIB called him in for investigations. Although he had previously said he was not biased towards the two companies, that was not true, Wong told Mr Tan.
To set the record straight, Wong had his statement recorded on Oct 10. He told Mr Tan that some time in 2016, there was a town council’s tender for an eco-burner. These are usually used for the burning of incense papers for religious purposes at housing estates, and they produce less smoke.
Wong told Mr Tan that 19-ANC Enterprise was the fourth-lowest bidder for such a product. Though the town council usually invites the three lowest bidders to be assessed, Wong made the call to also invite 19-ANC Enterprise for assessment.
That was because his staff member had informed him that there was only a S$1 difference in the bids submitted by the second-, third- and fourth-lowest bidders.
Wong said that a “high weightage” was placed on the product of the firm that is most eco-friendly. It happened that 19-ANC Enterprise had put forth such a product, and the firm then won the tender.
Though Chia or Yip did not influence him to advance their business interests, Wong said that he did so out of obligation, since they had given him discounts and paid for entertainment expenses.
Asked why he did not make the revelation in earlier statements, Wong told Mr Tan that he did not recall them. Wong added that he should not have made those mistakes as the town council’s general manager. Expressing his remorse, he asked to be given the chance to serve the underprivileged.
But later on, when Mr Tan called Wong to provide a follow-up statement, Wong said that his previous statement was inaccurate. He then gave another recorded statement to the CPIB on Nov 2, stating that he did not use his authority to influence the eco-burner tender.
His town council’s colleagues, including the assistant general manager, had also concluded that 19-ANC Enterprise’s product was the best after they tested it out as part of the assessment, Wong said.
When asked why he made the admission previously, Wong told Mr Tan that he was not thinking clearly as he was preoccupied with his daughter’s wedding plans — the ceremony was to be held on Oct 15.
On Tuesday, the lawyers of Wong and Chia questioned Mr Tan’s exact role in the investigations, repeatedly asking why he did not verify Wong’s statements, such as how the latter could act favourably or unfavourably towards a company during the tender process.
In response, Mr Tan said that his role was only to record Wong’s statements and there were others involved who were tasked to perform further investigations.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
Source from Today Online
No comments:
Post a Comment