Workers’ Party asked to file PQ over FAS corruption investigation; reply from Ministry was “not appropriate to comment further at this point”

“The Attorney-General’s Chambers is reviewing CAD’s investigation findings. It is not appropriate to comment further at this point,” said Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam in his response to a Parliamentary question filed by Sylvia Lim from the Workers’ Party (WP) on Monday (5 Apr).

Ms Lim had asked the Minister on the status and outcome of police investigations into a report by SportSG in April 2017 concerning an alleged misuse of funds, which resulted in police raids of the offices of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and three local football clubs as part of the probe.

FAS made the news in 2017 involving former FAS president Zainudin Nordin, FAS general secretary Winston Lee, Hougang United chairman Bill Ng, and his wife Bonnie Wong.

The four were let out on police bail after their arrest.

It was reported at the time that the four of them were assisting the CAD in investigations into alleged misuse of funds at the Tiong Bahru Football Club (TBFC) owned by Mr Ng and an attempt by a senior club official to obstruct the completion of audits at the Singapore Premier League’s sit-out clubs.

Mr Zainudin served as a Member of Parliament (MP) of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC from 2001 to 2015 and had stepped down from political office prior to the General Election in 2015. He is also formerly a Mayor of the Central Community Development Council from 2006 to 2011.

Mr Zainudin was appointed as the Chairman of the FAS in 2009 and had stepped down in December 2015.

This matter was raised by WP’s secretary-general Pritam Singh during the Committee of Supply debate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) earlier on 26 February.

Mr Singh, who is also the MP for Aljunied GRC, had commented that there is a real public interest as to why the investigations into the Keppel Offshore Marine and FAS matters have not closed yet.

“In the public mind, the inordinate delay in investigations is commonly juxtaposed against the publication of names, images and details of individuals splashed prominently in our papers, involving relatively petty amounts that constitute corruption like the $1 bribe, and rightly so.

“To address public talk of inequality and double standards or perceptions of the same, it would be important for the CPIB and investigatory authorities to consider interim updates in view of the length of time that has elapsed since the news of the investigations broke,” he said.

Mr Singh went on to ask when can the public anticipate a closure to the FAS matter.

In response to the FAS matter, Minister in the PMO Indranee Rajah noted that she did not have the information on FAS as the cut from him only indicated update on Keppel investigations.

“But perhaps, Mr Singh might like to file a Parliamentary Question on that,” said Ms Indranee.