KTV lounges make up ‘lion’s share’ of bribes
Ex-GM of AMK Town Council on trial for taking bribes
During the period a former Ang Mo Kio Town Council general manager allegedly took bribes from two company directors, the town council awarded tenders and contracts worth millions to the duo's companies.
These included repair and redecoration works on blocks of Housing Board flats, as well as the construction of community gardens, court documents revealed on the first day of the trial of former general manager Wong Chee Meng yesterday.
Wong, 58, pleaded not guilty to taking bribes totalling more than $107,000, mostly from Chia Sin Lan, 63, a director and major shareholder of companies 19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise, whose core business is doing work for town councils.
The "lion's share of the gratification", amounting to almost $53,000, was in the form of expenses at KTV lounges and massage parlours that Wong, also known as Victor, and Chia frequented, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Alan Loh yesterday
"As the general manager of (the town council), Wong had the power and ability to influence the award of (its) projects," he added.
But he "fell far short of the high standards of integrity demanded of his office and allowed himself to be cultivated by (Chia) and had become beholden to him, 19-ANC, and 19-NS2", said DPP Loh.
In a statement to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), Wong, who became general manager of the town council in 2013, said Chia and his associate would often offer to pick up the tab when they went drinking to cultivate good relations.
"I know that I should not have let them pay or even gone drinking with them, but I was very troubled at the point in time as I was facing problems in my marriage," added Wong in his statement to CPIB chief special investigator Jeffrey Tan, the first witness to take the stand yesterday.
Wong said he would try to pay the bills as well and did so several times. He said he did not drink with other contractors.
He is also accused of taking bribes in the form of remittances totalling $30,600 sent to his mistress in China, among other charges.
He met his mistress Xu Hongmei in 2015 when she was working in Singapore. When she returned to China, the single mum asked him for financial help like paying for renovation bills.
Wong told Chia about these issues and Chia said he would help settle them. In a statement in October 2016, Wong said he felt obligated to Chia's companies and wanted to help them using his authority at work. But next month, Wong told CPIB his earlier statement was incorrect.
His lawyer Melanie Ho asked Mr Tan, who took Wong's statement, if he may have decided not to fight the allegations owing to "family pressures".
Mr Tan disagreed.
Chia's lawyer Michael Loh suggested Wong could have made the statements out of fear. Again, Mr Tan disagreed.
The trial resumes today.
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