SINGAPORE — Former Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Commissioner Peter Lim, who has kept silent so far on the corruption charges against him, will take the stand in the sex-for-contracts trial — he is expected to do so on Monday — after a judge ruled yesterday that he has a case to answer.

Lim, 52, is charged with corruptly obtaining oral sex from Ms Pang Chor Mui, 49, and showing her favour by alerting her about the SCDF’s need for radiation portal monitors before the tender was put up publicly.

District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim made the ruling after she dismissed the arguments by Lim’s lawyers Hamidul Haq and Bala Chandran that, among other things, his relationship with the former Nimrod Engineering General Manager was “purely personal”.

His lawyers also drew comparisons with the case of former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay, who was subsequently acquitted. Lim’s lawyers argued that unlike ex-IT sales manager Ms Cecilia Sue — whom Mr Ng was accused of obtaining sexual favours from — it was not Ms Pang’s role as General Manager to pursue potential business opportunities.

It was her boss, Mr Tamil Selvan, who made “most decisions” in relation to sales, Mr Haq said.

Ms Pang, a divorcee, had said in court that she and Mr Selvan were in the midst of a “serious relationship” when she performed oral sex on Lim on May 2, 2010.

The unsolicited sex act was “merely and remains an act of marital indiscretion, borne out of the underlying nature of the relationship” between Ms Pang and Lim, Mr Haq said. It is “at most an internal matter for the SCDF to handle”, he argued.

Mr Haq also argued that Lim did not show favour to Nimrod when he asked Ms Pang about the radiation portal monitors. While the prosecution said this allowed Nimrod more time to prepare the tender, Ms Pang had testified that her ex-company would still have been able to submit a bid in time without the tip-off, Mr Haq pointed out. The charge against Lim “must be premised on a word, act or suggestion that something would be done in return”, he added.

But the arguments cut no ice with the judge, who said she was “satisfied that the prosecution has established a prima facie case”.

Lim, who had not spoken a word during the nine-day trial so far, uttered his first words in open court when he said it was “not necessary” for him to discuss with his lawyers about whether he will take the stand and enter his defence.

In response to the defence lawyers, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng had pointed out that Ms Pang re-established contact with Lim in May 2009 after he was appointed SCDF Commissioner — despite the fact that they had known each other since 1996. Even so, she was hesitant to congratulate him at first, he noted. “If she was so close to him right from the start in the ‘90s, why did she feel that it was rude to call him when he became commissioner?” Mr Tan said.

He also argued that Lim played an “active role” when the sex act took place — by texting Ms Pang, giving her directions to the place to pick him up and where to go, as well as “unzipping his trousers without asking Ms Pang”.

The tryst was obtained by Lim as an “inducement for something in the future”, Mr Tan argued. Even though Lim could not foresee the 2011 earthquake in Japan — which led to the SCDF putting up the tender for the radiation portal monitors — it was not necessary to link the gratification to “a specific act or specific favour in the future” for the purpose of proving the offence in the charge, said Mr Tan.