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Two Japanese men jailed for more than five years for corruption

This article is more than 12 months old

To continue to be a distributor of edible flour, Mr Koh Pee Chiang paid Katsutoshi Ishibe, 53, and Takaaki Masui, 55, more than $2 million in bribes between 2004 and 2007 until his business faced financial problems.

Ishibe and Masui were yesterday sentenced to 5½ years' jail. District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan found them guilty of 28 counts of corruption each in March.

The judge also ordered the Japanese men to each pay a penalty of $1,025,701, failing which they will have to spend another six months behind bars.

The court heard that Mr Koh, the sole proprietor of Chia Lee & Co, claimed he had no choice but to agree to the arrangement.

His company was the distributor of edible flour for the company the two men worked for - Nissho Iwai International Singapore, and then Sojitz Asia after a merger in 2004.

To "support and protect" Chia Lee's edible flour business, Ishibe got Mr Koh to also sell industrial flour - but under a profit-sharing arrangement.

The deal, worked out in 2002, saw industrial flour being sold through Chia Lee to Chao Sun Trading for a profit margin of US$23 (S$30) a tonne.

Mr Koh was allowed to keep US$3 while the remaining US$20 was split between Ishibe and Masui. The deal continued even after Ishibe, who was a manager of the foodstuff department of Nissho Singapore and Mr Koh's main contact point, eventually returned to Japan.

PROFIT-SHARING

Masui then took over Ishibe's role. The profit-sharing arrangement was made without the knowledge of their company.

In the submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutors Jasmin Kaur and Loh Hui-Min said: "Mr Koh... was worried and nervous that if he did not agree to do this 'favour', Ishibe would sell the edible flour to competing trading companies, which would in turn adversely affect Chia Lee's edible flour business."

Later on, each transaction garnered a higher profit margin, but Mr Koh continued to get US$3.

This amount just covered his costs and could not sufficiently cover the additional business tax Chia Lee had to pay as the industrial flour business grew.

By June 2005, Chia Lee ended up in grave financial difficulties. Mr Koh continued to pay the men. Payments stopped only when Chia Lee's accounts were later controlled by Sojitz Japan.

Defence counsel Sunil Sudheesan said his clients will be appealing against the conviction and sentence.

Court documents did not state if action is being taken against Mr Koh.

COURT & CRIME