SINGAPORE – Four men, including two who were working for the People’s Association (PA) at the time, were charged in court on Jan 31 over their alleged roles in a procurement fraud case linked to the Our Tampines Hub development project.
Vincent Chang Yew Teck, 63, was a deputy director of facilities management at PA, while Lee Kian Wee, 51, was a senior facilities manager of contracts at the agency.
PA told The Straits Times in a statement on Jan 31 that the two men are no longer working for it.
Its spokesperson said: “The two individuals were (initially) suspended in May 2021... We are unable to comment further as the matter is before the courts.”
The third man, Seet Thong Kok, 67, was a facilities manager with a contractor that PA had engaged for minor building works.
A search with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority revealed that Seet is the owner of a firm called Caspian Electrical Sub-Contractor. Court documents did not mention the firm’s name.
The fourth man, Soh Chun Kang, 42, was at the time of the alleged offences a senior key account manager of a managing agent engaged by PA, the police said in a statement on Jan 31.
Court documents did not disclose details about the agent.
Seet, who was charged with three counts of forgery on Jan 31, is accused of committing the offences in 2017 and 2019.
The police said in the statement: “He allegedly instigated the... contractor’s administrative staff to forge 18 quotations purportedly issued by (other firms), intending to deceive PA that the contractor’s quotation was the lowest-priced of three quotations for building works requested by PA.”
According to court documents, the three firms were SK Furniture Construction, K&T Building Construction and KJS Construction.
Seet’s case has been adjourned to Feb 28.
For each count of forgery, an offender can be jailed for up to four years and fined.
On Jan 31, Soh, Lee and Chang were each charged with four counts of giving false information to a public servant.
The police said the trio had allegedly engaged in a conspiracy to furnish backdated procurement documents to the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) between December 2020 and February 2021.
These acts purportedly took place during the AGO’s audit of the Our Tampines Hub development project.
A total of 142 allegedly backdated procurement documents were submitted to the AGO, the police added.
The trio’s cases will be mentioned again in court on March 4.
For each count of giving false information to a public servant, an offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined.
PA states on its website that Our Tampines Hub is Singapore’s largest integrated community and lifestyle hub, serving more than 250,000 residents and about 80,000 households. Residents can take part in activities such as sports and shopping there.
