August 19, 2023, 04:20 AM
A 61-year-old Malaysian man, who worked as a commercial executive at the Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard Private Limited, is facing 14 charges after allegedly committing corruption.
According to a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) press release, Balakrishnan Govindasamy was charged in court on Aug. 16, 2023 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
From 2015 to 2021, Balakrishnan allegedly obtained, or attempted to obtain, gratification in cash totalling at least S$202,877 from the following nine contractors representing different companies:
| Charge | Date: | Amount (S$): | Contractor: | Position: |
| 1 | March 2018 - March 31 2021 | S$7,675 | Ang Kok Hwee | Director of Honta |
| 2 | S$32,412 | |||
| 3 | S$44,475 | |||
| 4 | S$13,450 | |||
| 5 | S$10,200 | |||
| 6 | S$15,025 | |||
| 7 | January 2020 - March 2021 | S$15,000 | Gunasekaran Balamurugan | Director of Ally Marine Services |
| 8 | July 2020 | S$7,800 | Tan Peck Siah | Director of IF Restoration |
| 9 | Sometime in 2020 | S$1,000 | Kittappa Sasikumar | Director of Hypex Engineering |
| 10 | January 2021 | S$1,400 | Khaw Poh Leong Jacob | Employee of Entraco Offshore |
| 11 | Two times in 2019 - 2020 | S$4,090 | Lim Chai Jin | Employee of Joo Hwa Engineering |
| 12 | Sometime in 2015 - 2016 | S$8,000
(Attempted) |
Koh Bee Giok | General Manager of Index-Cool Marine & Services |
| 13 | Sometime in 2021 | S$40,350
(Attempted) |
Subramaniam Naidu, Venkatachalam Govindaraj | Director of CMS Engineering, Operations Manager of CMS Engineering |
| 14 | Three times in 2015 - 2016 | S$2,000 | Ganesan s/o v Nagu | Director of Three Aces Marine |
According to CPIB, these sums of money were meant as inducement or reward for advancing the business interests of the contractors with Balakrishnan's employer.
Five of Balakrishnan's charges are also punishable under Section 124 the Criminal Procedure Code, meaning that if convicted, he could face two times the amount of punishment liable for those offences.
Any person convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
Top photos from Pinterest and Mohammad Nazmus Shahadat/ Google Maps
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