Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau charged a former senior procurement officer of Keppel Shipyard, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, with 395 counts of corruption.

On 26 September 2017, Neo Kian Siong, appeared in court for a total of 395 charges for the following offences:

78 counts of corruptly accepting a total of S$293,000 (US$216,000) from several company directors and a sales engineer in exchange for helping the companies further their business interests with Keppel Shipyard. This constituted a violation of Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

270 counts of converting approximately S$933,600 (US$687,850), which wholly represents benefits from criminal proceeds, to numerous forms of assets—such as vehicle deposits and hire purchases, housing loan, insurance premiums, shares, unit trusts, foreign currencies and time deposits. This constituted an offence under Section 47(1)(b) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes Act, Chapter 65A, and punishable under Section 47(6)(a) of the same Act.

47 counts of transferring approximately S$119,800 (US$88,322), which wholly represents benefits from criminal proceeds, to various bank accounts, an offence under Section 47(1)(b) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes Act, Chapter 65A, and punishable under Section 47(6)(a) of the same Act.

“Accepting monies or gifts that were given with the intention to gain an unfair business advantage is unethical and can constitute an act of corruption,” the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a statement.  

Singapore adopts a zero-tolerance approach toward corruption. The CPIB said it “takes a serious view of any corrupt practices and will not hesitate to take action against any party involved in such acts.”

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