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Attorney-General’s Chambers to appeal acquittal of two men in LTA bribery case

The Attorney-General’s Chambers will appeal the acquittal of two men formerly charged with bribery in connection with a Land Transport Authority official. The men were acquitted after a judge ruled that investigative lapses by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau rendered their statements unreliable.

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The prosecution is set to appeal the acquittal of two men, Mr Pay Teow Heng and Mr Pek Lian Guan, who had been charged in connection with bribery involving a former Land Transport Authority (LTA) director.

The two men were acquitted last Friday, 11 October 2024, after a judge highlighted issues with the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau’s (CPIB) handling of their statements.

Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) filed the appeal on Monday following its earlier indication that it was reviewing the court’s judgement.

According to Channel News Asia’s report, AGC had stated it would assess the case before determining its next steps. The acquittal stemmed from findings that the CPIB’s statement-taking process had been flawed.

Both men were originally charged in July 2020. Mr Pek, 59, was the CEO and chairman of Tiong Seng Holdings, a construction firm, and Mr Pay, 56, was a director at Tiong Seng Contractors.

They faced charges related to alleged bribes given to former LTA deputy group director Henry Foo Yung Thye, who had been accused of accepting bribes to advance the business interests of various companies.

The court heard that Mr Pay had allegedly given S$350,000 (US$267,000) to Mr Foo over two separate occasions in 2017 and 2018.

The prosecution argued that these payments were intended to secure LTA contracts for Tiong Seng. Mr Pek was charged with abetting Mr Pay in the alleged bribery scheme.

The trial focused heavily on the conduct of CPIB officers during the investigation.

Two key officers, identified as Mr Chris Lim and Jeffrey, were called to testify regarding the statements they took from Mr Pay and Mr Pek, respectively. District Judge Soh Tze Bian ultimately ruled that these statements were “inaccurate” and “unreliable,” leading to the acquittal.

Judge Soh criticised the conduct of the CPIB officers, particularly their methods in recording the statements of the accused. He noted that Mr Lim, who recorded Mr Pay’s second statement, had approached the investigation with a “preconceived notion” that Mr Pay was guilty of an offence.

The judge found that Mr Lim had selectively recorded information that could be construed as incriminating while omitting exculpatory evidence, leading to what he described as a “blatant disregard for the truth.”

In the case of Mr Pek, Judge Soh found that the officer identified as Jeffrey had employed a “cut-and-paste” approach to compile his statement. This method resulted in repeated self-incriminating remarks being included in Mr Pek’s statement.

The judge concluded that these remarks were not a faithful representation of what Mr Pek had actually said, raising serious questions about the accuracy of the statement.

The judge’s verdict highlighted the importance of proper investigative processes and the duty of law enforcement to maintain integrity when recording statements.

He stated that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and thus, acquitted both men.

The acquittal came after months of legal proceedings and scrutiny of the CPIB’s conduct during its investigation.

The case has sparked concerns over investigative practices within the CPIB, particularly in high-profile corruption cases.

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