Ex-wife of alleged kelong king apologises for telling 'lies'

She is on trial for allegedly giving false information to a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer in 2013.

Yesterday, the court heard that housewife Guan Enmei, who was once married to alleged match-fixing kingpin Dan Tan Seet Eng, sent a letter last year to his CPIB investigation officer (IO), Mr Jeffrey Tan, admitting that she had not been perfectly honest with him.

Her IO, principal special investigator Frankie Lee, told the court that IO Tan later passed him the letter.

From the witness stand yesterday, Mr Lee read out an excerpt of the letter dated May 9 which stated: "I'm very sorry that I told lies on some issues."

However, it was not mentioned in court what these issues were.

Guan, now 41, is accused of giving false information to CPIB senior special investigator Lim Yen Chun between 4.45pm and 7pm on June 6, 2013. At that time, she was still married to Tan.

The China-born Singaporean allegedly left her home that day with a paper bag containing two laptops.

However, during an oral interview at the CPIB headquarters at Lengkok Bahru, off Jalan Bukit Merah, she allegedly lied to Ms Lim by saying that she left home with only her handbag.

Guan divorced Tan, now 51, in July last year. (See report, right.)

She is his third ex-wife and they have an 11-year-old son.

In the opening statement, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jasmin Kaur told the court yesterday that Tan was ordered to report to the CPIB in the morning of June 6, 2013.

Before he left his home, the court heard that he asked Guan to take two laptops from the study, place them in a bag and hand the items to him after he was released from the bureau.

But later that day, Guan was also asked to report to the CPIB.

She called for her usual limousine driver, Mr Alan Chen De Zhan, but he was unable to attend to her as his car was at a workshop.

He arranged for another driver, Mr Akbar Abdul Ali, to pick her up at her home.

WHITE PAPER BAG

Guan placed a white paper bag containing the two laptops on the car's back seat before sitting beside Mr Akbar, said DPP Kaur.

DPP Kaur added that Guan then met Mr Chen near the CPIB and gave him the bag for "safekeeping".

While he was waiting for her at a nearby coffee shop, a team of CPIB officerstook him in for questioning.

They also seized the bag and its contents.

One of the prosecution's witnesses, convicted match fixer Eric Ding Si Yang, 33, testified in court yesterday that Guan phoned him some time in 2013 asking what she should do with the two laptops in her possession.

Ding said that Guan sounded "panicky" and told him that Tan had been taken into custody.

Ding, who said that he is Tan's friend, added that he could not recall if she had told him who owned the laptops.

But he told District Judge Lee Poh Choo that they could contain incriminating evidence and he was also aware that some of Tan's computers were encrypted.

Ding, who appeared in court wearing purple prison coveralls, is now serving a six-year jail sentence for offences including giving bribes and perverting the course of justice. (See report, right.)

Guan's lawyer, Mr Foo Cheow Ming, revealed in court yesterday his client's version of events.

While cross-examining Ms Lim, who is now working for the Ministry of Education, he said that according to Guan, the then-CPIB officer never asked her any questions about the whereabouts of the paper bag and the two laptops. Ms Lim denied this, saying: "I disagree."

Mr Foo also said that Guan never made false statements as she was never asked about the items.

Ms Lim also denied this. She stressed that when she asked Guan if she had brought anything else besides her handbag, Guan replied: "No."

Guan will testify in court today.

If convicted of giving false information to Ms Lim, she can be jailed up to a year and fined up to $10,000.

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PHOTO: ST FILE

DAN TAN SEET ENG

The Interpol described him as "the leader of the world's most notorious match-fixing syndicate".

Singaporean businessman Dan Tan Seet Eng, now 51, was first arrested on Sept 16, 2013.

He was detained under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLTPA) the following month.

The law allows the Minister for Home Affairs to order the detention of suspected criminals without trial. The orders are up to a year and reviewed annually.

But after two years behind bars, Tan was released on Nov 25 last year, following an appeal against his detention.

A three-judge panel that included Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon ruled in a landmark judgment that while Tan may have run an international match-fixing syndicate from Singapore, his activities did not pose a threat to the public safety, peace and good order here.

However, police re-arrested him six days later for "suspected involvement in criminal activities" and once again detained him without trial under the CLTPA.

PHOTO: TNP FILE

ERIC DING SI YANG

In July 2014, a district court sentenced the 33-year-old businessman to three years' jail for providing three Lebanese football officials with prostitutes as bribes for fixing future matches.

But following an appeal on Jan 16 last year, Justice Chan Seng Onn increased the sentence to five years' jail, saying that the original term of three years was "manifestly inadequate".

Last October, he admitted to perverting the course of justice and failing to provide the password to his laptop computer.

His jail term was then increased by a year.