Ex-Surbana Jurong employee allegedly took bribes of S$50,050 over Sengkang BTO project

SINGAPORE — A former resident technical officer of Surbana Site Supervisors was charged on Wednesday (April 27) with obtaining bribes totalling S$50,050 in relation to a 2017 Build-To-Order (BTO) project under the Housing and Development Board.

Seow Koon Thong, 59, is accused of taking gratification from subcontractors in return for not showing them disfavour when assessing their work on the Rivervale Shores project.

The Singaporean faces nine criminal charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He allegedly got the bribes between 2018 and 2021.

Resident technical officers are accredited professionals who work alongside engineers as site supervisors to monitor progress of construction projects and ensure compliance with construction safety regulations, among other things.  

Surbana Site Supervisors is a subsidiary of the Surbana Jurong Group, which is wholly owned by state investor Temasek Holdings.

Surbana Jurong said in a statement on Wednesday that it takes “a very serious view to the case, especially as we are certified to ISO 37001 anti-bribery management systems”.

The company gave its full cooperation to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and “took appropriate actions” once the case came to light, it added.

This included reminding staff members about its “no gifts” policy and business conduct guidelines that “help us uphold honesty and integrity in all our business dealings”, the company said. Surbana Jurong describes itself on its website as a global urban, infrastructure and managed services consulting firm.

Court documents showed that Seow allegedly took bribes of sums ranging from S$2,000 to S$14,500, He received them from:

• Ang Sek Chai, director of MW Dynamics
• Yue Shien Chin, director of Sun Power Electrical
• Ong Teck Keong, an employee of Sun Power Electrical
• Chan Chew Leh, director of Reclaims Enterprise
• Sun Guiyang, director of Sun Gin Hong Construction
• Sun Jinjiang, director of Sheng Yi Construction
• Chen Zijie, director of Hong Ann Jie Contractor
• Chen Xiaoguang, director of He Shun Xin Construction

It is unclear if these subcontractors have also been charged.

Seow, who did not have a lawyer, told District Judge Terence Tay that he intends to plead guilty. He will return to court on June 10.

If convicted of corruption, Seow could be jailed for up to five years or fined up to S$100,000, or punished with both, for each charge.

The Rivervale Shores project, located along Sengkang East Drive and next to the Tampines Expressway, was launched in August 2017.