SINGAPORE — They had known each other for more than a decade and had gone on trips together to China, as well as to KTV bars and nightclubs here.

At the KTV joints, Wong Chee Meng, former general manager of Ang Mo Kio Town Council, and company director Chia Sin Lan would “hang flowers” — garlands — on the hostesses to “show appreciation to (them) for their performances”.

Chia and Wong would take turns to pay for drinks and each would fork out their own tips, Chia said in his initial statement to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

Later, in his second statement, Chia said instead that the entertainment expenses were paid by Chia’s business associate Tay Eng Chuan using his credit card.

Chia’s statements given to the bureau in October 2016 and various documents tendered in court took centrestage on the second day of the corruption trial on Wednesday (Sept 26), as two CPIB investigators took the stand as witnesses for the prosecution.

Wong, 58, also known as Victor, is accused of taking bribes totalling more than S$107,000, mostly from Chia, 62, a director of two companies 19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise. Wong faces 55 counts of the corruption offence and Chia faces a similar set of charges.

The dealings allegedly happened between December 2014 and September 2016, when the two companies won town council tenders and contracts worth millions of dollars, including for the supply of incense burners.

The companies deal in general building, repairs and redecoration works.

The two men got to know each other sometime between 2005 and 2007, when Wong was with Marine Parade Town Council, the court heard.

On two occasions in 2016, they went on trips to China, where they visited Chia’s incense-burner supplier.

Chia said in his first statement to the CPIB that each man paid for his own air ticket. “For food and drinks, we would take turns to pay,” he said in his statement, which was read in court by CPIB principal special investigator Keith Peh.

When Chia was first asked on Oct 4, 2016, by CPIB officers if he had bribed Wong, he said no.

The next day, he gave a second statement admitting that he “had not been truthful” in his previous statement. According to Mr Peh, Chia said he had thought about his family, was “sorry… (for) not cooperating with the CPIB” and wanted to take responsibility for his actions.

Chia clarified that he had remitted S$20,000 to an associate in China, who handed the money to Wong’s mistress Xu Hongmei.

He also admitted that he had helped Wong to get a job for his daughter-in-law when Wong approached him for help. Although she was employed by someone else, Chia and Mr Tay — a shareholder of 19-NS2 — paid her monthly salary of S$1,600.

Mr Tay kept handwritten accounts of the inflow and outflow of funds, copies of which were found in Chia’s office and tendered in court.

Mobile phone bills for calls that Wong made to China were among the items paid, but entertainment expenses formed the bulk of the payments.

Chia told the CPIB that the “inflow” of funds recorded in the accounts came from selling scrap metal.

He set up 19-ANC with his younger brother in 1994 and named it after the former Apollo Night Club. 19-ANC would bid for projects and sub-contract any projects it was awarded to 19-NS2, which was set up with other sub-contractors.

The companies’ clients included the town councils of Ang Mo Kio, Bishan-Toa Payoh and Tampines.

In his statement to the CPIB, Chia — who drew a monthly salary of S$15,000 — denied knowledge of a Toyota Corolla Altis being sold to Wong at a discount.

Wong allegedly received a discount of S$13,500 from Ms Alisa Yip Fong Yin, who was a project director at 19-ANC and a director and shareholder of 19-NS2, court documents showed.

The trial continues on Thursday.

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