Man accused of bribing former AMK Town Council’s GM had asked business partner to destroy receipts

SINGAPORE — At the ongoing corruption trial involving a former town council general manager, a witness testified that entertainment bills incurred from hosting the official were destroyed and not recorded properly.

Mr Tay Eng Chuan told the court on Wednesday (Nov 7) that whenever his business partner Chia Sin Lan picked up the tab at karaoke clubs after entertaining Wong Chee Meng, former general manager of Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC), Chia would submit the receipts for reimbursement.

However, Chia would also instruct Mr Tay to destroy the receipts of his entertainment sessions with Wong.

Both Chia, 62, and Wong, 58, are on trial for corruption.

Wong is accused of taking bribes mostly from Chia — with the sum totalling more than S$107,000 in the form of meals, entertainment and other perks — to advance the business interests of 19-ANC and 19-NS2 with AMKTC.

The firms deal with general building, repairs and redecoration works, and Chia is director of both companies.

Both men face 54 counts of the corruption offence each — one fewer than before — after the prosecution decided to drop one at the start of the trial.

Mr Tay, like Chia, is a shareholder of 19-NS2 and has been maintaining the financial records for 19-NS2 since the company was incorporated in July 2013.

As the prosecution's witness, Mr Tay told the court on Wednesday that he was instructed by Chia to be vague in recording the remarks for the entertainment expenses.

In one of the records, Mr Tay wrote "3,700 FV", with the letter “F” indicating flowers — or the act of hanging garlands on the hostesses — and "V" for Victor, which is Wong’s other name.

When Deputy Public Prosecutor Jiang Ke-Yue asked why Chia wanted the remarks to be cryptic, Mr Tay said: “Chia's rationale was that in the event of any checks by government officials, these entertainment expenses cannot be easily traced.”

The costs of these garlands could vary from S$100 to S$1,000, and they were a way to show appreciation to karaoke hostesses for their performances, he added.

Between December 2014 and September 2016, Chia’s two companies won town council tenders and contracts worth millions of dollars, including for the supply of incense burners, which are used for the burning of incense papers for religious purposes at public housing estates.

It was during that period when Mr Tay had two karaoke sessions with Wong, Chia and other 19-NS2 shareholders.

The first was in February 2015 at the Superstar KTV in the Newton Road area, and Wong was accompanied by his mistress Xu Hongmei, whom he introduced as a "distant relative".

Upon his arrival, the hostesses at Superstar KTV greeted Wong warmly, calling him "Huang zong (general manager Wong)", Mr Tay recalled.

Ms Xu appeared to be very familiar with karaoke club’s surroundings, and even went to fetch hot water within the premises for Wong when he got drunk.

About a year later, the group — without Ms Xu — went to the same KTV lounge again, and this time, the KTV hostesses were very friendly towards Chia, greeting him as "Xie dong" (director Xie), Mr Tay recounted.

"I thought (Chia and Wong) went to the (Superstar) KTV regularly," Mr Tay said.

The trial continues on Thursday.