Former Esplanade and Arts House employee, 3 company directors charged with corruption
Saburulla Abdul Gani is accused of obtaining bribes of more than S$96,000 from the directors of two companies to advance their interests in renovation and installation contracts.
File photo of the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay in Singapore. (Photo: iStock)
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SINGAPORE: A former employee of the Esplanade and the Arts House was charged with corruption on Friday (Oct 31), along with three directors and their companies.
Saburulla Abdul Gani, 59, is accused of obtaining bribes from the directors of two companies to advance their interests in various renovation and installation contracts.
The bribes obtained allegedly amounted to more than S$96,000 (US$74,000), according to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
CHARGES INVOLVING JYD DESIGN
One of the two companies charged is JYD Design.
Its director, 63-year-old Yeoh Wee Yeong, allegedly conspired with Saburulla and five other people to mislead The Esplanade into believing that JYD had provided the lowest quotations.
"This came in the form of multiple quotations containing false statements by other companies which had no genuine intention to bid for the contracts," CPIB said in a media release.
The alleged offences are said to have occurred between 2009 and 2015, which resulted in various renovation and building contracts being awarded to JYD.
In 2005, Saburulla allegedly obtained a bribe of at least S$1,000 from Yeoh as an inducement not to find fault with the company’s work.
Between January 2011 and September 2022, Saburulla allegedly obtained bribes totalling around S$52,800 from Yeoh in multiple occasions, as rewards to advance business interests relating to renovation and installation contracts between JYD, the Esplanade or the Arts House.
CHARGES INVOLVING ACEPROJECT CONSTRUCTION
Saburulla is also accused of obtaining bribes totalling around S$42,800 from two directors of Aceproject Construction - Chew Kim Kee, 52, and Eng Kim Hai, 63.
The alleged offences occurred between 2018 and 2022, said CPIB, adding that the bribes were either rewards or inducements to advance business interests relating to renovation contracts between Aceproject and the Arts House.
During the same period, Saburulla allegedly conspired with Chew and two other people to mislead the Arts House into awarding various building contracts under the belief that Aceproject provided the lowest quotation.
Saburulla is also accused of misleading the Arts House into awarding contracts to JYD and Aceproject over multiple instances between 2019 and 2022.
"Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption," said CPIB. Anyone convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000, sentenced to a maximum jail term of five years or both.
