Former Seagate senior director, his sister jailed for taking S$2.2m in bribes

• Teo Chu Ha, also known as Henry Teo, leaked confidential information to his sister Judy Teo
• She pocketed the bribes from two China trucking companies over three years
• He used some of the money to buy a condominium unit in Singapore in her name

SINGAPORE — Two siblings were sentenced to jail on Monday (Jan 11) for conspiring to receive 11.3 million yuan (S$2.2 million) in bribes for tenders awarded by data storage company Seagate to two China trucking firms.

While employed as a senior director at Seagate, Teo Chu Ha leaked confidential information to his sister to secure two tenders for Shanghai Long-Distance Transportation (SLT) and Feili International Transport.

Judy Teo Suya Bik received the bribes after the foreign firms got contracts in 2006 and 2009 with Seagate.

Later, her brother transferred some of the money from her China bank accounts to his own bank account, using S$703,480 to buy a condominium unit at Hume Avenue near Upper Bukit Timah Road in her name.

Teo Chu Ha, also known as Henry Teo, 72, was sentenced to four years and two months’ jail.

Judy Teo, 68, was sentenced to three years and five months’ jail. She was also ordered to pay a penalty of about S$2.3 million to disgorge the bribes, and has to serve one-and-a-half more years behind bars if she cannot pay up.

Both Singaporeans were found guilty last year of 50 counts each of taking or abetting the taking of gratification from April 2007 to November 2010.

They were also convicted of one count of retaining the benefits of criminal conduct.

WHAT HAPPENED

Teo Chu Ha was a member of Seagate’s tender committees and a senior director of logistics at the time.

During their trial, the siblings did not deny receiving 10 per cent in “commissions” for the tenders. However, they denied that these were bribes, saying they were “finders’ fees” for Judy Teo introducing the Seagate opportunities to Feili and SLT.

Their lawyers, Mr Bachoo Mohan Singh and Mr Too Xing Ji from BMS Law, argued that the so-called commissions were for Judy Teo’s ex-boyfriend Joseph Ong.

Mr Ong ran Twin Palms Sdn Bhd, with which SLT and Feili had signed agreements. The firms also paid the bribes to Mr Ong’s personal bank account, of which Judy Teo had control.

The prosecution countered that the money was meant for Judy Teo, and she was able to withdraw sums and deposit them into her own bank accounts in China. Her brother also admitted that he intended to help her to earn an income.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Navin Naidu and Ang Siok Chen said that this showed Mr Ong was “simply a conduit” for the monies from the beginning.

The Teo siblings had already thought of using him around late-2005 when Seagate was exploring the possibility of engaging vendors in China for their logistics services, the prosecutors argued.

In terms of the confidential information that Teo Chu Ha shared, the prosecution presented documentary evidence proving this, including an email that Judy Teo sent to Mr Ong.

She admitted there that she had to coach the truckers on how to present their global positioning system features with Seagate’s required standard, as well as check and fix individual pricing for the chosen truckers, among other details.

For each charge of corruption, the siblings could have been jailed up to five years or fined up to S$100,000, or both.

For retaining the benefits from criminal conduct, they could have been jailed up to 10 years or fined up to S$500,000, or both.