SINGAPORE — The high profile Ang Mo Kio Town Council corruption case will go to trial, after its former general manager and the director of two building and repair companies who allegedly offered him bribes pleaded not guilty on Wednesday (April 11).

The town council’s former general manager Wong Chee Meng, 58, also known as Victor Wong, was charged last month with 55 counts of corruption. He allegedly received kickbacks amounting to about S$107,000 in dealings with the directors of 19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise. The firms deal with general building, repairs and redecoration works. Chia Sin Lan, 62, who is the director of both companies, faces the same number of charges.

Chia and Wong are currently out on bail of S$100,000 each. No fresh charges were tendered against them. A pre-trial conference has been set for May 3.

Wong was an ex-employee of CPG Facilities Management, the managing agent of the town council which serves the Ang Mo Kio public housing estate. He began working at the town council as a property manager, before he was promoted to general manager in 2013.

He is alleged to have received bribes from Chia totalling more than S$30,000, which were sent to Wong’s mistress Xu Hongmei in the form of overseas remittances. The activities purportedly took place on three occasions between June 2015 and May 2016.

Between March and August 2016, Chia’s company 19-ANC Enterprise is said to have also paid more than S$8,200 in salary to Wong’s daughter-in-law, Ms Le Thi Hien, who got her job at another firm because of the two men’s dealings with each other.

Wong also allegedly accepted bribes in the form of entertainment expenses on at least 29 occasions. Nearly S$45,000 was shelled out at various karaoke clubs in 2015. Other forms of gratification included hotel accommodations, as well as meals at various restaurants.

In another instance, Chia is said to have conspired with Yip Fong Yin — a project director with 19-ANC and a director at 19-NS2 — to offer bribes to Wong in the form of discounts amounting to S$13,500 for a car that Wong bought.

19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise were also charged with engaging in a criminal conspiracy with Chia, Yip, and Tay Eng Chuan — all three are shareholders of 19-NS2 — to bribe Wong between 2014 and 2016 in order to advance their business interests.

If convicted, Wong faces 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 per charge.