UPDATE: Dr Ong Seh Hong, in a letter to Channel NewsAsia, explained the circumstances under which he received the $60,000 loan from Ren Ci:
“I was an employee of GIC in 1999. I was offered by Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre to be Director, Medical & Paramedical Services in January 2000.
“However to leave GIC, I had to pay S$560,000 to settle my outstanding staff housing loan. I agreed to join Ren Ci on condition that I received a loan of S$60,000, to pay off in part the amount of S$560,000 and I paid the remaining S$500,000 from bank loan.
“When I borrowed the sum of S$60,000 from Ren Ci, I was not an MP. It was lent to me as staff, and was part of the terms on which I agreed to join Ren Ci. I have since repaid the sum fully.”
The court on Thursday heard that Ming Yi had approved several loans to various staff. Among them, was Dr Ong Seh Hong who is currently the community hospital’s chief operating officer and clinical director of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre.
Dr Ong is also a Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC.
When contacted by Channel NewsAsia, the MP said he is unable to comment as the trial is still ongoing.
Testifying in court, Ren Ci’s former human resource manager, Joyce Teng Lee Foong, said the staff loan was made to Dr Ong when he first joined the hospital in 2000. The S$60,000 loan is understood to be the largest sum approved by Ming Yi. It is not known whether the loan has been repaid.
See full story at CNA