HDB senior estate manager, construction firm director charged with corruption over false quotation
Tan Siam Chua said he would contest the charge and claimed that his actions were "in accordance with HDB practice".
File photo of the State Courts in Singapore. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: A senior estate manager working for the Housing Board (HDB) and the director of a construction firm were charged on Thursday (Sep 28) over giving a false quotation to HDB.
The men received one charge each of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Tan Siam Chua, 60, is accused of instigating Liong Ah Chye, the 61-year-old director of Liong Construction, to give a false quotation to HDB in September 2021.
The intention was to mislead HDB, the charge sheets stated.
There was no information given at this early stage of court proceedings about what the project was about, or what the falsehood was.
Liong was handed a charge of instructing his employee to hand a false quotation for his company, Liong Construction, to another HDB senior estate manager. This was supposedly on the instructions of Tan.
The prosecution said they were ready to proceed with both cases, but Tan said: "Actually I want to contest ... the charge."
The judge interjected and told him he was entitled to contest the charge, but need not go into the details at this stage.
She asked if Tan was going to hire a lawyer or apply for legal aid, but Tan said he would not.
"I will just state what is the HDB practice and those things I have done (are) actually in accordance with HDB practice," he said.
Both men will return to court for pre-trial conferences next month.
While Tan has no lawyer at present, Liong is represented by Mr Tang Shangwei and Ms Dorcas Ong from WongPartnership.
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a statement that Singapore "adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption" and anyone convicted of corruption can be jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$100,000, or both.
In response to queries from CNA, HDB said Tan will be suspended from service as he has been charged in court.
"HDB expects all officers to maintain high standards of integrity and incorruptibility, and their actions must not bring HDB into disrepute," it said.
