Wilmar says man in photo with money launderer Su Haijin is not CEO Kuok Khoon Hong

One of the men tagged in the recently viral photograph of a dinner attended by convicted money launderer Su Haijin has been wrongly identified.

The Straits Times reported a statement by Wilmar International Limited, noting that one of the men photographed at a dinner attended by several Cabinet ministers and convicted Fujian gang member Su Haijin has been wrongly identified as the chief executive of commodities giant Wilmar.

The photos, which are being widely circulated, carry a tag in Mandarin identifying one of the men as Kuok Khoon Hong, who is Wilmar’s chairman and chief executive.

The error originated from the source of the photograph, the Instagram account of former opposition politician Charles Yeo (@toxicstatenarrativeinsg).

The man in the photo was tagged with the name 郭孔丰, the Chinese name of Wilmar International Limited Chairman and CEO Kuok Khoon Hong,

In Wilmar's letter to the Straits Times, which was seen by Mothership, the conglomerate's Executive Director, Group Legal Counsel and Company Secretary, Teo La-Mei, told the paper that the person in the photo was not Kuok and requested a clarification.

The photograph has been removed by the Straits Times.

Ong Ye Kung, Chee Hong Tat, Ng Chee Meng seen having meals with Su in different photos

The photograph was part of a set of photos that went viral recently because of its more recognisable attendees—Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat, and NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng—seen together with Su, a man who later turned out to be a money launderer.

Both ministers' press secretaries have come out to explain the context of the photos and say that the ministers "do not know Su personally" and have had no contact or dealings with him "before or since then".

Ng also responded on the same day, saying that the dinner was part of his work as NTUC Secretary-General to engage with different companies and private sector leaders.

He added that the dinner "took place some time back" and he had no further interactions with Su.

Another attendee, Sam Goi, who is also known as Singapore's Popiah King, told Bloomberg that he hosted meals for Su and the ministers.

According to Goi, the meals took place in 2020, before Covid-19 restrictions were implemented.

“It’s all for friends and I paid for them all,” he told Bloomberg. “It all happened a long time ago. Let it drop.”

Meanwhile, former manpower minister Lim Swee Say, who attended a dinner which had Ong and Su in attendance, told CNA that it was a "social gathering among old friends".

This particular dinner took place on May 10, 2022.

"A small group of long-time local friends were invited by a long-time local friend to dinner. When I got there, I saw an unfamiliar face at the dinner too. Su was the only stranger there. No idea why he was included by the host. We did not pay much attention to him as we, the old friends, were having a fun time catching up with each other."

Top image: toxicstatenarrativeinsg/Instagram, Wilmar