Three Company Directors and Another Man Charged with Alleged Offences
On 31 December 2024, the following four individuals were charged in Court with various alleged offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Penal Code and the Arms and Explosive Act:
a) Mohamad Daud Bin A Rahim (“Daud”) (60-year-old male Singaporean), Director of Qirom Consulting Pte Ltd (“Qirom Consulting”) at the material time;
b) Mohd Nasir Bin Mohd Sairi (“Nasir”) (59-year-old male Singaporean), Director of Fatiin Multimedia Pte Ltd (“Fatiin Multimedia”) at the material time;
c) Mohd Nasral Bin Awang (“Nasral”) (44-year-old male Malaysian), Director of Onaga Sys Pte Ltd (“Onaga Sys”) at the material time; and
d) Mohd Zairil Bin Ismail (“Zairil”) (53-year-old male Singaporean), a Senior Manager with the Mosque-Madrasah-Wakaf Shared Services (MMWSS) at the material time.
Alleged Offences in relation to Fictitious Quotations
2. On two occasions between August and October 2022, Daud allegedly instigated Nasir and Nasral to prepare and issue fictitious quotations from Fatiin Multimedia and Onaga Sys for the amount of S$24,900 and S$56,000 respectively. These quotations were to be submitted to the Sultan Mosque as support quotes for the Sultan Mosque’s digitalisation project.
3. Then, between September and October 2022, Daud was alleged to have knowingly given these two fictitious quotations to a Finance & Human Resource Manager of the Sultan Mosque. These fictitious quotations were allegedly intended to mislead the Sultan Mosque into believing that Fatiin Multimedia and Onaga Sys were prepared to undertake the digitalisation project for the Sultan Mosque at the quoted prices. Daud allegedly intended to deceive the Sultan Mosque into believing that Qirom Consulting, who also submitted a quotation for the digitalisation project, had submitted a quotation that was competitive.
4. For their actions, Daud, Nasir and Nasral faced charges for offences punishable under Section 477A read with Section 109 of the Penal Code. Daud also faced additional charges for offences punishable under Section 6(c) of Prevention of Corruption Act.
Alleged Offence in relation to Giving False Information to a Public Servant and Possession of a Prohibited Item
5. On or about 16 June 2023, in Singapore, Zairil was the subject of an internal Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) investigation. In the course of the investigation, Zairil allegedly gave false information to a Deputy Director of MUIS by stating that he did not have any personal or financial interest in Qirom Consulting and that he had never received any payment from Qirom Consulting. Zairil knew this information was false. Zairil knew that by giving false information to the Deputy Director of MUIS, it would likely cause the said Deputy Director of MUIS to omit further investigations into his interest in Qirom Consulting and any payments he had received from Qirom Consulting. For this, Zairil has been charged with committing an offence punishable under Section 182 of the Penal Code.
Alleged Offence in relation to Possession of a Prohibited Item
6. On or about 5 September 2023, Zairil was allegedly found to having a pepper spray under his control. Zairil did not have a prescribed license to have a pepper spray under his control. This constitutes an offence under Section 13(1)(a) of the Arms and Explosive Act, punishable under Section 13(4) of the same act.
7. Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. Any person convicted of a corruption offence under Section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act can be fined up to S$100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years or both. Any person convicted of an offence punishable under Section 477A of the Penal Code, can be fined or sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years or both. Any person convicted of an offence punishable under Section 182 of the Penal Code can be fined or sentenced to imprisonment of up to 2 years or both. Any person convicted of an offence punishable under Section 13(4) of the Arms and Explosive Act can be fined up to S$5,000 and sentenced to imprisonment of up to 3 years.
8. Organisations are strongly advised to put in place robust procedures, in areas such as procurement and internal audit, to prevent falling victim to corrupt acts by their employees. Guidance for organisations on measures to prevent corruption can be found in PACT: A Practical Anti-Corruption Guide for Businesses in Singapore, which is available on CPIB’s website. Organisations are also strongly encouraged to obtain certification under the Singapore Standard (SS) ISO 37001 – Anti-Bribery Management Systems, which is designed to help organisations implement or enhance an anti-bribery management system to reduce corporate risk and costs related to bribery.
Reference Links:
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PACT: https://www.cpib.gov.sg/research-room/publications/anti-corruption-guide-for-businesses/
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SS ISO 37001: https://www.cpib.gov.sg/research-room/publications/ss-iso-37001/
Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau