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SINGAPORE - A former director of an engineering firm was on Friday (Aug 5) charged with graft and instigating an employee from another firm to falsify invoices seeking payment of more than $552,000.

Yap Tin Foo, 58, a former director of Starburst Engineering, was handed nine charges in total, including one for graft and eight for abetting the falsification of accounts.

He is accused of giving $9,934 in bribes in 2011 to Tan Keng Liong, vice-president of general contractor Jurong Primewide, in exchange for the contractor advancing the business interest of Starburst Engineering.

Yap is also said to have incited an employee of G-Cube Engineering to falsify invoices on eight occasions between September 2014 and August 2015, seeking payments that totalled more than $552,000.

Court documents did not state who or which company would benefit from the payments.

Another former director of Starburst Engineering, Edward Lim Chin Wah, 65, was also hauled to court on Friday to face three charges of instigating one of his employees to falsify subcontracts with G-Cube Engineering.

The alleged offences, which were committed between July and December 2014, involved subcontracts valued at $500,750.

Two other individuals were handed charges on Friday for alleged offences linked to Yap.

Tan, 64, faces two graft charges relating to receiving bribes worth around $14,700 from Yap between 2011 and 2012.

Gerald Lim Lee Meng, 56, vice-president of consultancy firm CPG Consultants, faces a charge under the Official Secrets Act for sharing with Yap an analysis of tender bids for projects the company had with the Ministry of Home Affairs. This is said to have happened in 2019.

All four are expected to return to court between Aug 26 and Sept 2.

If convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, an offender can be fined up to $100,000 and jailed for up to five years for each offence.

The maximum penalty for abetting the falsification of accounts is a 10-year jail term and a fine.

Those convicted under the Official Secrets Act can be fined up to $2,000 and jailed for up to two years.

Originally posted here:

Ex-director of engineering firm charged with graft, abetting falsification of invoices for $552000 - The Straits Times