In a Press Release issued by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on July 22, Mohamed Sa’ad Bin Mohamed Ali is said to have cheated multiple employees at the Public Utilities Board (PUB) into believing that he had genuinely sourced for quotations from the open market.
Sa’ad faces 718 counts of cheating and 9 counts of money laundering. On August 18, 2015, his case has been fixed for a pre-trial conference. He had to pay for the increased bail, from $50,000 to $80,000.
He dishonestly induced employees of PUB to approve the sourced quotations for various purchase orders. The orders that were made would not have been approved, had the employees not been deceived.
The total amount of the purchased orders had reached $1,981,175. This amount of money were subsequently awarded to businesses controlled by Sa’ad.
Sa’ad spent the benefits gained from the “businesses” to acquire a vehicle, an insurance policy, a Gold Certificate, a factory unit, and to repay his mortgage loans.
A spokesperson from PUB stated that the majority of Sa’ad’s alleged cheating occurred between 2009 and 2012. The purchases are mostly involving small value purchases, not more than $3,000.
Sa’ad joined PUB in October 2004 and he was positioned as a supervisor for the mechanical maintenance work at the particular water treatment plant.
In the middle of 2012, PUB held an internal audit and found suspicious details involving small value purchases at Choa Chu Kang Waterworks. The finding was reported to the CPIB during the same year, and Sa’ad was suspended from work that month.
If the court found him guilty for cheating, Sa’ad would face 10 years of imprisonment and be fined. If found guilty of money laundering, he would be fined up to $500,000 or face 10 years imprisonment or both.
