Charged for Corruptly Obtaining Competitor's Customer Information and Business

25 AUG 2020

The giving, offering or accepting of bribes with corrupt intent is illegal. Employees found guilty of corruption in their conduct of business have to face the full consequences under the law.

2. On 25 August 2020, three individuals were charged for the following corruption offences that allegedly took place between 2016 and 2017:

a) Eng Keng Hiong (翁庆雄), a 35-year-old Singaporean male who was a Motor Claims Consultant of SK Automobile Pte Ltd (“SK Automobile”) at the material time of the offences

  • 9 counts of corruptly giving gratification, amounting to at least $10,900, to 3 Service Advisors of Kah Motor Co. Sdn. Bhd. (“Kah Motor”) (Tan Kuan Lim, Yeam Wei Hong and Tan Yong Hun) as a reward for diverting the business of Kah Motor to SK Automobile or divulging information relating to customers of Kah Motor to him (Eng).
  • 1 count of corruptly offering S$1,000 to another Service Advisor of Kah Motor, as an inducement for diverting the business of Kah Motor to SK Automobile. His offer was rejected.

These constituted offences under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

b) Tan Kuan Lim (陈观霖), a 42-year-old Malaysian male who was a Service Advisor of Kah Motor at the material time of the offences

  • 3 counts of corruptly accepting gratification, amounting to at least S$1,400, from Eng Keng Hiong, a Motor Claims Consultant of SK Automobile as a reward for diverting the business of Kah Motor to SK Automobile or divulging information relating to customers of Kah Motor to him (Eng). These constituted offences under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

c) Yeam Wei Hong (阮伟康), a 33-year-old Malaysian male who was a Service Advisor of Kah Motor at the material time of the offences

  • 2 counts of corruptly accepting gratification, amounting to S$1,000, from Eng Keng Hiong, a Motor Claims Consultant of SK Automobile, as a reward for divulging information relating to customers of Kah Motor to him (Eng). These constituted offences under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

3. Singapore adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to $100,000 or sentenced to an imprisonment term of up to 5 years or both.

4. Companies are strongly advised to put in place robust procedures in areas such as internal audit to reduce the incidence of corruption. Guidance for companies on measures to adopt to prevent corruption can be found in PACT: A Practical Anti-Corruption Guide for Businesses in Singapore, which is available on CPIB’s website. Companies are also strongly encouraged to obtain certification under the Singapore Standard (SS) ISO 37001 – Anti-Bribery Management Systems, which is designed to help companies implement an anti-bribery management system or enhance existing systems to reduce corporate risks and reputational costs associated with corruption.

Reference Links:

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau