S'porean man, 61, allegedly accepted bribes from 3 company directors, got them to hire his son

A 61-year-old senior executive at an events company in Singapore allegedly accepted over S$10,000 in bribes from three company directors over multiple government contracts.

Lim Beng Poh, a Singaporean, also allegedly got his son hired at one of those companies, in exchange for "future business opportunities", said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in a statement.

All four men were charged in court on Feb. 10 with corruption.

The first bribe

The three other men involved were Tan Buck Kiang, 59; Zhang Shunda, 36; and Reeve Ho Chee Leong, 49.

All three were directors at various firms in Singapore, while Lim was chief culinary officer at Constellar Venues, an events company which manages the Singapore Expo.

The string of corruption offences began in 2021, when Lim allegedly accepted a bribe of S$2,200 from Tan, who was a director at Cheng Moh Huat Trading Supplier & Co at the time.

The bribe was incentive to advance business interests between both companies. Cheng Moh Huat earned over S$49,800 in revenue between 2020 and 2021 from the sale of packaging products to Constellar Venues.

Accepted bribes

Subsequently, Tan allegedly conspired with the other two directors to bribe Lim with S$13,800 to engage Emerald Prestige Services — where Zhang worked as a director — as a vendor for the Singapore FinTech Festival 2022.

The event was to be hosted at the Singapore Expo.

Several months later, the trio allegedly conspired again to bribe Lim with S$800 to introduce Magnifique Coffee, a brand under Emerald Prestige, as one of Constellar Venue's food and beverage partners.

Emerald Prestige was subsequently engaged as a vendor for a Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) event held between Nov. 7 and 11, 2022, at the Singapore Expo.

Both offences are understood to be linked to a contract between Constellar Venues and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

Nepotism and other offences

CPIB added that between January and April 2023, Lim allegedly obtained gratification from the three men to get his son a job at SG Global Holdings (SGG).

Tan and Ho were both directors at SGG at the time.

In exchange for getting his son hired, Lim would "advance future business opportunities" between SGG and Constellar Venues, CPIB said.

Also in 2022 and 2023, Tan allegedly conspired with Zhang to offer a bribe to a purchaser at Singapore Super Hi Dining Pte Ltd, in an attempt to induce the latter to purchase chemical products from SGG.

But their bribe offer was rejected.

Zero-tolerance approach: CPIB

In its statement, CPIB said that Singapore adopts a "strict zero-tolerance approach" towards corruption.

If convicted of corrupt transactions with agents under the Prevention of Corruption Act, individuals can be fined up to S$100,000, jailed up to five years, or both.

If the issue pertains to a contract or proposal with a government or public body, the jail sentence may be increased to seven years.

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