Turning Up The Heat On Corruption

The giving or receiving of bribes to advance business interests is an unfair and illegal practice. Individuals should never resort to such corrupt means.

2. On 13 February 2020, two individuals were sentenced for corruption offences. Li Chaoyun 李朝云 (“Li”), a 50-year-old Singaporean male who was employed by Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd (“JSPL”) at the time of the offence, was sentenced to 34 months’ imprisonment and a penalty of $956,600. The other individual, Tam Yit Ngor (“Tam”), a 41-year-old Singapore PR female who was Director of Newair Engineering Group Pte Ltd (“Newair”), was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment.

3. Investigations by the CPIB revealed that from 2011 to 2014, Tam had given gratifications to Li in return for advancing the business interests of Newair with JSPL. In 2011, Li and Tam set up Newair, a manufacturing company, to supply heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) products. The two directors of the company were Tam and Liu Li (Li Chaoyun’s wife). Li and Tam then used Newair to get business from JSPL with Li, then a Section Manager of the HVAC sub-unit at the Engineering Department of JSPL, introducing and recommending Newair to JSPL as a supplier for HVAC products. This resulted in a total sales volume of approximately $34,200,000 from 2011 to 2014. In return, Tam gave a total of approximately $960,000 in gratifications to Li. These gratifications came in the form of Newair’s shares, cash monies and cheques issued to Liu Li.

4. Li and Tam were first charged in court on 28 April 2016 for offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. They were convicted on 7 August 2018.

5. Singapore adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau takes a serious view of any corrupt practices and will not hesitate to take action against any party involved in such acts. Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to $100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to 5 years or to both.

6. The CPIB looks into all corruption complaints and reports, including anonymous ones, and can be reached via the following channels:

a) Call the Duty Officer at 1800-376-0000;
b) Lodge an e-Complaint;
c) Email us at report@cpib.gov.sg; or
d) Write to us at the CPIB Headquarters @ 2 Lengkok Bahru, S159047 or Corruption Reporting & Heritage Centre @ 247 Whitley Road S297830.

7. Where possible, the report should include the following information:

a) Where, when and how the alleged corrupt act happened?
b) Who was involved and what were their roles?
c) What was the bribe given and the favour shown?

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau