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Ex-security firm boss jailed for bribing Takashimaya manager, causing nearly S$500,000 in losses

SINGAPORE — The former boss of a security firm was jailed for 10 months on Monday (Aug 16) for bribing the security department manager at Takashimaya department store over more than three years.

  • Mandhir Singh Karpal Singh’s company did not have enough security officers to man the day shift at Takashimaya 
  • He agreed to bribe a manager at the department store with S$4,000 a month
  • This was so that the manager would not reveal the manpower shortfall to Takashimaya
  • Mandhir should have paid liquidated damages of between S$12,300 and S$20,500 a month to Takashimaya for the shortfall

 

SINGAPORE — The former boss of a security firm was jailed for 10 months on Monday (Aug 16) for bribing the security department manager at Takashimaya department store over more than three years.

Mandhir Singh Karpal Singh’s security firm, White Knights Security Services, frequently lacked enough officers to work the day shift at the department store in Ngee Ann City mall.

Under the contract with Takashimaya, his company should have paid the department store liquidated damages each time there was such a shortfall.

However, to avoid the damages, he agreed to give money instead to Takashimaya’s security department manager, Chan Kuen Thong.

He gave S$121,000 in gratification to Chan over more than three years and Takashiyama suffered an estimated loss of S$479,700 as a result.

Mandhir, 30, pleaded guilty to five corruption charges, with another 15 similar charges taken into consideration for sentencing.

Chan, also known as Andrew, has also been charged and his case is pending.

The court heard that in 2016, Takashimaya tasked Chan with sourcing for quotations from security agencies, after its previous provider could not supply enough manpower in accordance with the contract.

Based on Chan’s recommendations, Takashimaya awarded contracts to White Knights from 2017 to 2021.

Under the agreement, the firm would have to pay liquidated damages to Takashimaya if there was a shortfall in the number of security officers it deployed at the store.

From the time the first contract took effect in Jan 2017, Mandhir was already lacking an average of three to five security officers for each day shift.

Chan soon complained about some security posts being left unmanned. Mandhir said that he would resolve the matter but was unable to do so.

AFRAID OF LOSING FIRST ‘BIG’ CONTRACT

Later that same month, Chan called for a meeting and asked Mandhir to pay him S$4,000 every month so that he would not request liquidated damages to be paid to Takashimaya.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Benjamin Samynathan told the court that Mandhir agreed despite knowing the plan was corrupt. 

Mandhir knew White Knights would save a lot of money, as it stood to incur between S$12,300 and S$20,500 in damages a month, based on the average daily shortfall in his manpower deployment at the store.

The Takashimaya contract was also the first big contract that Mandhir was handling and he was afraid to lose it.

“By paying Chan the sum of S$4,000 each month, Mandhir could secure subsequent security contracts with Takashimaya and save himself the trouble of having to find more security officers for deployment at Takashimaya,” DPP Benjamin added.

Between Feb 2017 and May 2020, Mandhir instructed an employee to issue cash cheques, lying about their purposes. He then handed the money to Chan at his security office.

Although the agreement was to pay Chan S$4,000 a month, the sums he gave Chan varied and he only paid Chan whenever Chan asked him to do so.

Takashimaya suffered an estimated loss of S$12,300 a month for 39 months, amounting to a total estimated loss of S$479,700.

Neither Chan, Mandhir nor White Knights have made any restitution.

Chan reimbursed the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau with S$15,000 out of the bribes he had received.

DPP Benjamin sought at least 11 months’ jail, noting that Takashimaya houses several shops selling high-end products.

He added: “The supply of security officers helps deter incidents from happening and helps ensure a swift response if incidents do occur. The fact that Chan realised security officers were missing from their posts meant that the shortage was a real, tangible and visible shortage.”

For each charge of giving gratification, Mandhir could have been jailed for up to five years or fined up to S$100,000, or punished with both.

Related topics

crime court bribe corruption Takashimaya security guard

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