HDB senior estate manager and construction company director charged with corruption
A senior employee with the Housing Board and the director of a construction company were charged with corruption on Thursday.
Tan Siam Chua, 60, who was a senior estate manager with HDB at the time of the alleged offences, was handed one charge of abetting corrupt transactions with agents.
As Tan has been charged in court, he will be suspended from service, said an HDB spokesman in response to The Straits Times’ queries.
Liong Ah Chye, 61, the director of Liong Construction, was charged with one count of corrupt transactions with agents.
On Sept 16, 2021, Liong allegedly gave a false quotation from his company, through one of his employees, to an HDB senior estate manager who was identified in charge sheets as Lau Chee Wee.
Liong is said to have known that this false quotation was intended to mislead HDB.
Tan had allegedly instigated Liong to do so, said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in a press statement.
On Thursday, Tan told the court that he intended to contest the charge.
Tan, who has not engaged a lawyer, said: “Those things that I have done (are) in accordance with HDB’s practice.”
The judge stopped him from elaborating further, and arranged for him to attend a pre-trial conference on Oct 26.
On Thursday, Liong said, through his lawyer Tang Shangwei of WongPartnership, that he intended to contest the charge.
Mr Tang said Liong needs to travel to China to visit suppliers. The judge told the lawyer to put in an application for Liong to leave Singapore.
Liong’s case is also fixed for a pre-trial conference on Oct 26.
Both Tan and Liong are now out on $10,000 bail each.
If found guilty, they can each be fined up to $100,000 or jailed for up to five years, or both.
The HDB spokesman said: “HDB expects all officers to maintain high standards of integrity and incorruptibility, and their actions must not bring HDB into disrepute.”
CPIB said it looks into all corruption-related complaints and reports, including anonymous tip-offs.
The public can make an e-complaint on CPIB’s website, send an e-mail to report@cpib.gov.sg, or call 1800-376-0000.
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