Singaporean shipbuilding firm Keppel Fels was reported with multiple charges of corruption-related offences this morning (14 October).
A total of seven people were involved in the offences, including a 40-year-old yard manager, Alvin Lim Wee Lun, who was charged with 46 counts of conspiring with two other individuals to obtain bribes. The bribes obtained were to advance the business interests of multiple sub-contractors.
Two other alleged co-conspirators were Rajavikraman Jayapandian, a project director at industrial manufacturing firm Rotary Offshore Solutions, and Goh Ngak Eng, a director at Megamarine Services, which involved dealing in marine engines.
According to The Straits Times, the bribes were taken in exchange for furthering the business interests three companies. These offences were committed between 2014 and 2017.
Do note that this is a case in Singapore, and not the one that occurred in Brazil previously.
It was reported that these three offenders obtained approximately S$879,900 in bribes from three sub-contractors. They intended to share the sum.
Other than this case, Goh and Jayapandian are facing three additional corruption charges for furthering the business interests of a marine equipment manufacturer with another company in the same line of business.
Goh gave Jayapandian S$7,000 as a reward for helping to facilitate the business deals.
On the other hand, one of Goh’s associate, Ong Tun Chai, was also charged with ten counts of corruption for accepting a total of $15,100 from Goh as a reward for preparing fictitious invoices on a logistics company’s letterhead.
Ong was also reported to have fraudulently falsified papers belonging to a logistics company on 20 occasions. He had issued these papers to two sub-contractors to reflect that services were requested by the sub-contractors when that was not the case.
Sub-contractors U Keh Choon director at maritime equipment company Titan Offshore Equipment; Goh Sheng Li Stanley, a director at industrial supplies firm Spectrama Marine and Industrial Supplies; and Fatkullah Tiap, managing director of engineering and consultancy company Growa were held accountable for multiple corruption-related offences.
The trio – Lim, Jayapandian and Goh allegedly accepted bribes amounted to S$196,700 from U. The director at Titan Offshore Equipment was charged with seven corruption-related offences.
Stanley Goh, on the other hand, was charged with 21 counts of corruptly giving bribes worth S$190,900.
Fatkullah was charged with 18 counts of giving gratification amounting to approximately S$492,300.
Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000, jailed up to five years, or both.
