$52,700 NParks bike tender: officer suspended, vendor stops tours

PHOTO: Lianhe Zaobao

As citizens and the media questioned whether paying $52,700 to procure 26 Brompton bikes for NParks' officers to use on patrols was proper, the Ministry of National Development was already investigating discrepancies in the transaction.

An officer with the National Parks Board (NParks) has since been suspended from duty following the probe, and BikeHop, the vendor which sealed the deal to supply 26 bikes to NParks, has been advised to stop the cycling tours it organises for tourists.

The Singapore Tourism Board told The New Paper that such tours require a licence.

In a statement last night, MND said Minister Khaw Boon Wan called for an internal audit team to work with NParks to review the purchase last month.

It was to ascertain if the purchase was justified and to see if its procurement process could be improved.