SINGAPORE — After several months on trial, the former general manager of Ang Mo Kio Town Council pleaded guilty on Monday (March 25) to receiving S$86,141 in kickbacks from the director of two building and repair companies.

Wong Chee Meng, 59, admitted to taking the bribes from 2014 to 2016 as inducements to advance the business interests of Chia Sin Lan’s two companies, 19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise.

The bribes included overseas remittances from Chia, 63, to Wong’s mistress; entertainment expenses at various KTV lounges, restaurants, spas and a hotel; and discounts on a Toyota Corolla Altis.

Wong, also known as Victor, was an employee of CPG Facilities Management, the managing agent of the town council that serves the Ang Mo Kio public housing estate.

He was appointed AMKTC’s general manager in November 2013, and was in charge of the town council’s overall operations. He oversaw and provided input on the selection of contractors for works at AMKTC.

Chia’s companies, 19-ANC and 19-NS2, handle general building, repairs and redecoration works for town councils, including AMKTC.

The two men decided to admit to their offences earlier this month after a 16-day-long trial that began in September last year.

Both pleaded guilty on Monday to three charges each under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Two more charges for each man, involving salaries paid to Wong’s daughter-in-law by 19-ANC and the M1 mobile phone and line Wong used to make calls to his mistress, will be considered for sentencing on Friday.

The penalty for each charge is a maximum jail term of seven years — two years more than the highest possible for a typical corruption charge as the transactions involved a public body — and/or a fine of up to S$100,000.

Initially, they each faced 55 corruption charges involving about S$107,000. One charge each was withdrawn during the trial. After the prosecution and defence considered the evidence, Chia and Wong admitted to giving and receiving S$86,141.49 in kickbacks respectively.

Chia also pleaded guilty on his companies’ behalf to being members of a criminal conspiracy.

PAIR MET VERY OFTEN

The court heard that Wong and Chia got to know each other sometime in February 2015.

They were introduced by either Ms Alisa Yip — the operations manager of both firms — or Mr Tay Eng Chuan, a shareholder of 19-NS2 and the prosecution’s key witness during the trial.

Shortly after, the two men began to meet very often to patronise KTV lounges, restaurants and massage spas.

THE BRIBES

1. Car discount

Sometime in end-2014, Wong told Ms Yip he wanted to buy a new car. She told him that 19-ANC was looking to sell a 16-month-old Toyota Corolla Altis, and estimated the price to be S$85,000.

Wong asked for a discount to account for the purported high mileage of the car. Chia agreed to sell it to Wong for S$75,000.

As part of the transaction, 19-NS2 also agreed to buy Wong’s old car at S$20,000, before trading it in for S$16,500 for the purchase of a new Toyota Corolla Altis.

Wong thus received overall gratification of S$13,500.

2. Remittances to Wong’s mistress

Sometime in February 2015, Wong got to know Ms Xu Hongmei, a Chinese national working as a singer here at Super Star KTV lounge in Hotel Royal. They then began dating.

In June that year, Ms Xu asked Wong for 100,000 renminbi (about S$20,000) for renovations to her house in China.

When Wong told Chia about this, Chia and Mr Tay agreed to remit 80,000 renminbi (S$16,000) to Ms Xu.

Later that year, Ms Xu told Wong that she had fallen victim to an investment scam and had been cheated of about 50,000 renminbi.

Chia agreed to help Ms Xu by giving her the same amount of money.

3. Entertainment

Between May 2015 and July 2016, Wong and Chia frequented KTV lounges, restaurants, massage spas and a hotel on 29 occasions.

Through these visits, Wong received kickbacks of S$34,070.

At the KTV lounges, Chia would buy alcohol and flower garlands for the lounge singers, including Ms Xu, and give tips to the staff.

Chia also paid for spa treatments for Wong, bought him a package at Spa-1 Wellness Centre,  and paid for a stay at Hotel 81.

WORKS AWARDED TO 19-ANC AND 19-NS2

Wong admitted to influencing his staff from the contracts department to include 19-ANC in the list of contractors to invite for quotes.

AMKTC also awarded more works to both companies in 2015, compared with 2014.

In one instance, a tender was called in August 2015 for repair and redecoration works to 11 Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks in Teck Ghee.

When Wong found out the highest bidder had been issued with a stop-work order by another town council, he highlighted it during a meeting and recommended the tender be awarded to 19-NS2, the second-lowest bidder.

Separately, AMKTC called for a tender for a term contract for the design, supply and delivery of low emission incense burners in August 2016.

Wong asked his contract staff to focus on studying the eco-friendly features of the burners that they had to assess, as he knew the one being offered by 19-ANC was the most eco-friendly among the bidders, and they would thus win the tender despite being the fourth-lowest bidder.

Wong also denied the other bidders’ requests for more time to produce mock-ups that fit AMKTC’s requirements.