SINGAPORE — The former commissioner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Peter Lim is not asking for mercy because he knows that he is not corrupt, Lim’s lawyers Hamidul Haq and K Bala Chandran submitted in court today.

Lim, 52, is accused of corruptly obtaining oral sex on May 2, 2010, from Ms Pang Chor Mui, the then general manager of Nimrod Engineering in exchange for furthering her business interests with the SCDF.

Mr Haq said that Lim’s relationship with the 49-year-old had been purely an intense and personal one and that their previous intimate and suggestive conversations and messages had culminated on the night of the one-off sexual encounter.

Both parties had also repeatedly stated during the course of the trial that they had feelings for each other. Ms Pang had also testified that she had not been pressurised into performing the act and that even though the act was not “completed”, Lim had not insist on being satisfied.

That behaviour did not “square” with someone who wanted to have sex, Mr Haq said.

He also said that Lim did not view the sexual act as an “inducement” in exchange for a personal favour and that Ms Pang also did not make any indication that she expected something out of it.

The prosecution had earlier applied to impeach Lim and substitute parts of his court testimonies with his statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) because of several inconsistencies.

However, Mr Haq said that the prosecution cannot “cherry-pick” statements and substitute them as evidence in court and “ignore everything else” that supports Lim’s case.

Mr Haq added that Lim was also not evasive in testifying in court, as charged by the prosecution, and that Lim answered every question and did not “play dumb”.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng submitted that Lim did not maintain a consistent version of his friendship with Ms Pang and that he had portrayed her as the “initiator” of the entire sexual episode but he never put these “crucial allegations” to Ms Pang when she was on the stand.

Lim’s portrayal of Ms Pang had only come up in cross-examination, which showed that Lim was “tailoring” his evidence during the trial, Mr Tan said.

Mr Tan also pointed out that Ms Pang had only reconnected with Lim after a 10-year hiatus in their friendship upon learning he had been appointed the commissioner of the SCDF and that she had “taken pains” to tell Lim about Nimrod’s products and how he could obtain more information.

In doing so, Mr Tan said that Lim had “good reason” to believe that Ms Pang was trying to build goodwill with Lim in respect of Nimrod’s business dealings with the force and that she “would not refuse him” oral sex “in part” because of that.

A verdict will be given on May 31. ASHLEY CHIA