SINGAPORE – An assistant director at the National Library Board (NLB) allegedly obtained bribes totalling $140,000 from directors at two different firms between 2018 and 2020.

Adrian Chan Siew Leng, 48, is said to have committed the offences in exchange for advancing the business interests of the companies with NLB.

He was charged on Feb 7 with multiple counts of corruption.

He is also accused of cheating, as well as an offence under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Ten other people were also charged over their alleged roles in several cases linked to Chan.

NLB told The Straits Times that it immediately suspended Chan from his duties on June 12, 2020, when it was notified of the investigation.

Over several occasions between 2018 and 2019, Chan allegedly obtained $90,000 in bribes from Francis Lim Boon Hor, 49, who was then a sales director at Broadcast Engineering Services (BES), a product and solutions supplier.

Lim is said to have worked with two other then directors of BES – Tan Lai Heng, 63, and Lien Hoi Choon, 68 – to give Chan the money.

Between 2018 and 2020, Chan allegedly obtained another $50,000 from Puan Kai Hsiong, 49, who was a director at interior design and construction firm Pan Prebuild at the time.

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said that Pan Prebuild was then a subcontractor of BES.

Puan and Lim were charged with cheating and corruption on Feb 7.

According to CPIB, Chan allegedly conspired with Lim to cheat NLB some time in or around March 2018.

They were said to have worked together to dishonestly conceal from NLB that variations to a certain contract resulted in savings of $245,720.

As a result, NLB paid this additional sum to BES on May 2, 2018.

CPIB also said that some time in or before March 2019, Chan allegedly conspired with Puan to dupe BES into believing that Pan Prebuild had completed all the works stated in a certain delivery order for works linked to the National Archives of Singapore.

BES then paid $30,000 to Pan Prebuild on April 3, 2019.

On the OSA offence, CPIB said that on Feb 9, 2018, Chan allegedly used WhatsApp to unlawfully send a man identified as John Paul Tan Wei Ming, 40, information related to the budgetary quote for a project involving the Oldham Theatre of the National Archives of Singapore.

At the time, John Paul Tan was a senior sales manager at Broadcast Professional that deals with items such as media installations.

He was not authorised to receive the information, which had been entrusted in confidence to Chan.

John Paul Tan, Lien, Tan Lai Heng and five others were handed charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The five people are: Soh Ling Ling, 44; Kwa Kaoh Wee, 48; Tan Hong Liang, 50; Fong Choon Yew, 52; and Ho Chan Shen, 57.

At the time of the alleged offences, Tan Hong Liang was the sole proprietor of Integra Interactive, while Soh and Kwa were then directors of Multimedia Maestro, an information technology consultancy firm.

At the time, Fong was a director at Broadcast Professional and Ho was a sales director at the same firm.

CPIB said that some time in or around April 2018, Chan allegedly instigated John Paul Tan to give him false quotations from Multimedia Maestro and Integra Interactive for a certain tender linked to the Oldham Theatre.

This was purportedly done to mislead NLB.

John Paul Tan allegedly worked with Fong, Ho, Kwa and Soh for a false quotation from Multimedia Maestro.

He is also said to have worked with Fong and Tan Hong Liang for a false quotation from Integra Interactive.

Both sets of false quotations were submitted to NLB on April 19, 2018.

All 11 people are Singaporean, except Lim, who is a Malaysian. Soh is the only woman in the group. Their cases have been adjourned to March 6.