Man admits working with others to give zoo director bribes of over $88k for contracts

Source: The Straits Times
Author: Shaffiq Alkhatib

SINGAPORE - A project manager at a construction firm worked with three other men, including the company's sole director, to give more than $88,000 in bribes to the facilities management director at the Singapore Zoological Gardens.

The attraction, now known as the Singapore Zoo, was a subsidiary of Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which also managed the Night Safari.

Chong Yun Chia, 40, was working for KK Iron Engineering (KKI) at the time, and he was one of four men who engaged in a conspiracy to give the monies to Barry Chong Peng Wee, 57, over four occasions in 2016.

This was done to advance KKI's business interests with WRS, now known as the Mandai Wildlife Group.

On May 2, Chong Yun Chia, a Malaysian, pleaded guilty to five graft charges with 19 others to be considered during sentencing.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Kelvin Chong, Shamini Joseph and Darren Sim stated in court documents that due to the corrupt arrangement, WRS awarded multiple contracts to KKI worth more than $1 million.

It is estimated that WRS suffered loss of at least $88,350 as a result of marked-up prices submitted under the corrupt arrangement in relation to Chong Yun Chia's charges.

The DPPs told the court that he had worked with Koh Kian Hee, To Chai Kiat and Toh Yong Soon to give the bribes to Barry Chong, who had left WRS.

At the time of the offences, Koh, 41 was a director and shareholder at construction firm Geoscapes while To, 50, was the sole director of KKI.

Toh, 39, was then a project manager at a firm called Shin Yong Construction (SYC). The cases involving To, Toh and Barry Chong are pending.

According to court documents, Chong Yun Chia also received bribes totalling more than $92,000 from Koh over multiple occasions as rewards for creating fictitious invoices.

The prosecution said that in 2005, Barry Chong entered into a corrupt arrangement with key personnel of SYC to ensure that WRS-related jobs were awarded to it in exchange for monetary commission.

Toh began managing SYC's operations 10 years later and continued with this arrangement.