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Singapore Law Watch
5 hours ago
- Business
- Singapore Law Watch
High Court upholds acquittal of Chinese company accused of bribing ex-LTA deputy group director
High Court upholds acquittal of Chinese company accused of bribing ex-LTA deputy group director Source: Straits Times Article Date: 31 May 2025 Author: Selina Lum Henry Foo Yung Thye, who was in financial difficulties from gambling, had reached out to two senior employees from China Railway Tunnel Group's Singapore branch and asked for loans. The High Court has upheld the acquittal of a Chinese company that was charged with bribery after two of its employees gave loans totalling $220,000 to a Land Transport Authority (LTA) deputy group director. In a written judgment on May 29, the court said there was insufficient evidence to show that the company's top management was aware of or somehow complicit in the illegal acts. The Singapore branch of China Railway Tunnel Group was first acquitted of three corruption charges by a district judge in March 2024 on grounds that the two employees' acts could not be attributed to the company. Xi Zhengbing, who was the general manager and head representative of the branch, and Zhou Zhenghe, who was a deputy general manager, gave the loans to Henry Foo Yung Thye between January 2018 and August 2019. The district judge said Xi did not have a sufficiently high level in the chain of command. The Singapore branch is only one of the sub-departments within the company's overseas department, which is in turn only one department in the company's corporate structure. The prosecution appealed to the High Court against the acquittal. On May 29, the appeal was dismissed by a panel comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Tay Yong Kwang and Justice Andrew Phang. The court also noted that Xi and Zhou had resorted to defrauding the company with false invoices to obtain the $200,000 that was given to Foo as loans in 2018. Zhou then had to borrow $20,000 to provide the subsequent loan. 'All these showed clearly that the respondent was never involved in its employees' illegal activities and neither did it give its tacit approval (nor) pretend to be ignorant of what the Singapore branch's employees were doing,' said the court. In September 2021, Foo, then 47, was sentenced to 5½ years' jail for taking about $1.24 million in bribes in the form of loans from contractors and sub-contractors. Foo, who resigned from LTA in September 2019, was also ordered to pay a penalty of about $1.16 million, equivalent to the amount he had not returned. Xi and Zhou were arrested in September 2019 by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. After being released on bail, they absconded to China, where they were arrested and subsequently convicted by a Guangzhou court. Xi was sentenced to a five-year jail term and a fine of 300,000 yuan (S$57,400). Zhou was sentenced to two years' jail and a fine of 100,000 yuan. China Railway Tunnel Group has 24 branches, eight of which are overseas. The Singapore branch was a sub-contractor for two different projects on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), and was awarded the main contract for a project on the Circle Line. At the time of the offences, Foo was involved in the project management of the main contractors in respect of TEL projects. Between 2016 and 2019, he reached out to the company's employees, including Xi, to ask for loans. No loan was given as a result of Foo's first request. Subsequently, Xi agreed to give him a loan upon his second request in the hope that Foo would refer more job opportunities to the company. Zhou then arranged for false invoices to be issued to the company and prepared supporting documents with forged signatures. These documents were presented to the company's finance department, which disbursed the payment. After receiving the money, Xi and Zhou passed $200,000 to Foo. In 2019, Foo made a third request. Xi agreed to give him another loan, in the hope that Foo would expedite the company's payment claims and help the company to win the tender for another project. On Xi's instructions, Zhou borrowed $20,000 from a friend and passed the money to Foo. The prosecution alleged that in 2016, Mr Liu Chenyu, who was based in China, was told of the discussions to pay Foo a bribe and approved his request for a loan. Mr Liu was then the deputy general manager of the company's overseas department, which was in charge of all the overseas branches. The prosecution presented text messages, including one from another employee of the Singapore branch telling Foo that Mr Liu was grateful for his support. But the High Court panel said the prosecution had not presented the necessary evidence to prove that Mr Liu was involved. The messages did not prove that Foo's request for a loan was actually conveyed to Mr Liu, said the judges. Lawyer Paul Loy of WongPartnership, who acts for the company, said his client will continue to respect the laws of countries in which it operates. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
High Court upholds acquittal of Chinese company accused of bribing ex-LTA deputy group director
Henry Foo Yung Thye, who was in financial difficulties from gambling, had reached out to two senior employees from China Railway Tunnel Group's Singapore branch and asked for loans. PHOTO: ST FILE SINGAPORE – The High Court has upheld the acquittal of a Chinese company that was charged with bribery after two of its employees gave loans totalling $220,000 to a Land Transport Authority (LTA) deputy group director. In a written judgment on May 29, the court said there was insufficient evidence to show that the company's top management was aware of or somehow complicit in the illegal acts. The Singapore branch of China Railway Tunnel Group was first acquitted of three corruption charges by a district judge in March 2024 on grounds that the two employees' acts could not be attributed to the company. Xi Zhengbing, who was the general manager and head representative of the branch, and Zhou Zhenghe, who was a deputy general manager, gave the loans to Henry Foo Yung Thye between January 2018 and August 2019. The district judge said Xi did not have a sufficiently high level in the chain of command. The Singapore branch is only one of the sub-departments within the company's overseas department, which is in turn only one department in the company's corporate structure. The prosecution appealed to the High Court against the acquittal. On May 29, the appeal was dismissed by a panel comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Tay Yong Kwang and Justice Andrew Phang. The court also noted that Xi and Zhou had resorted to defrauding the company with false invoices to obtain the $200,000 that was given to Foo as loans in 2018. Zhou then had to borrow $20,000 to provide the subsequent loan. 'All these showed clearly that the respondent was never involved in its employees' illegal activities and neither did it give its tacit approv al (nor) prete nd to be ignorant of what the Singapore branch's employees were doing,' said the court. In September 2021, Foo, then 47, was sentenced to 5½ years' jail for taking about $1.24 million in bribes in the form of loans from contractors and sub-contractors. Foo, who resigned from LTA in September 2019, was also ordered to pay a penalty of about $1.16 million, equivalent to the amount he had not returned. Xi and Zhou were arrested in September 2019 by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. After being released on bail, they absconded to China, where they were arrested and subsequently convicted by a Guangzhou court. Xi was sentenced to a five-year jail term and a fine of 300,000 yuan (S$57,400). Zhou was sentenced to two years' jail and a fine of 100,000 yuan. China Railway Tunnel Group has 24 branches, eight of which are overseas. The Singapore branch was a sub-contractor for two different projects on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), and was awarded the main contract for a project on the Circle Line. At the time of the offences, Foo was involved in the project management of the main contractors in respect of TEL projects. Between 2016 and 2019, he reached out to the company's employees, including Xi, to ask for loans. No loan was given as a result of Foo's first request. Subsequently, Xi agreed to give him a loan upon his second request in the hope that Foo would refer more job opportunities to the company. Zhou then arranged for false invoices to be issued to the company and prepared supporting documents with forged signatures. These documents were presented to the company's finance department, which disbursed the payment. After receiving the money, Xi and Zhou passed $200,000 to Foo. In 2019, Foo made a third request. Xi agreed to give him another loan, in the hope that Foo would expedite the company's payment claims and help the company to win the tender for another project. On Xi's instructions, Zhou borrowed $20,000 from a friend and passed the money to Foo. The prosecution alleged that in 2016, Mr Liu Chenyu, who was based in China, was told of the discussions to pay Foo a bribe and approved his request for a loan. Mr Liu was then the deputy general manager of the company's overseas department, which was in charge of all the overseas branches. The prosecution presented text messages, including one from another employee of the Singapore branch telling Foo that Mr Liu was grateful for his support. But the High Court panel said the prosecution has not presented the necessary evidence to prove that Mr Liu was involved. The messages did not prove that Foo's request for a loan was actually conveyed to Mr Liu, said the judges. Lawyer Paul Loy of WongPartnership, who acts for the company, said his client will continue to respect the laws of countries in which it operates. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
GE2025: Ong Ye Kung criticises SDP for downplaying role of PAP MPs in transforming Sembawang
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung refuted the SDP's claims that it did not matter who the MP on the ground is, as long as the PAP forms the government. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI Follow our live coverage here. SINGAPORE – Sembawang would not have transformed into the town it is today, if not for the role played by PAP MPs past and present, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. He was refuting claims made by the opposition Singapore Democratic Party that it did not matter who the MP on the ground is, as long as the PAP forms the government. Speaking at a rally near Sun Plaza in Sembawang on April 28, Mr Ong said the SDP was making sweeping statements. He said: 'One of the parties, SDP... They have a lot to say, but one thing they say, I think, is disingenuous. They say all these plans are going to happen anyway because the PAP will be the government. 'Whoever is the MP... all these things that I just mentioned, will still happen. Really ah? I don't think they can come here for one month and make all these sweeping statements.' Mr Ong ran through a list of completed projects, including the Bukit Canberra integrated sports and community hub, the Yusof Ishak Mosque, the Woodlands Health hospital and the Sembawang Hot Spring Park. Upcoming ones he named included the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link and the Woodlands North Coast precinct. Each project required extensive discussions with the authorities, he added. Said Mr Ong: 'I spoke to the Defence Ministry and asked, can you give us some land to build the Hot Spring Park? Mindef agreed, that's why today we have a Hot Spring Park. 'If it was the SDP in charge, do you think Hot Spring Park will happen? I raised money for the performance stage... in Sembawang Park. If it is the SDP in charge, do you think a stage will come up in Sembawang Park?' He added that he was also in discussions with the Urban Redevelopment Authority on future plans for the site on which Sembawang Shipyard sits, and that in the 'usual Sembawang GRC style', residents will be consulted. Mr Ong, 55, is helming the PAP team in Sembawang GRC against the SDP and National Solidarity Party in a three-cornered fight. His five-member team includes two new faces – Mr Ng Shi Xuan, 35, and Mr Gabriel Lam, 42, as well incumbent MPs Vikram Nair, 46, and Mariam Jaafar, 48. When rolling out larger national projects like the Thomson-East Coast Line, the community is less involved because the Cabinet makes the decisions, said Mr Ong. Addressing the crowd, he asked: 'When those decisions are made in you not want the anchor minister of Sembawang GRC to be in the room making that decision?' The audience roared and chanted Mr Ong's name, accompanied by a swell of clappers and whistling. Mr Ong also addressed several recent policy proposals put forward by the SDP in its speeches and manifesto, and explained why the ideas were not feasible or realistic. For instance, the core of the SDP healthcare proposal, he said, is a single-payer, universal healthcare system in which the government manages a central healthcare fund. Mr Ong said he designs healthcare systems and develops policies as part of his job, but he was not able to figure out what type of healthcare set-up the SDP is proposing. Patients in Singapore pay their hospital bills with government subsidies, claims from MediShield Life, and through MediSave or what can be called the S+2M system. Mr Ong asked: 'A single payer system. What does it mean? It means S+2M. Get rid of two of the alphabets and live with one? So, my question to SDP is, which two are you getting rid of?' He added that the SDP plan would mean getting rid of all the subsidies or getting rid of MediShield Life. Without subsidies, all hospital bills must be paid by the health insurance scheme MediShield Life, he said. Mr Ong said: 'What does it do to premiums? Shoot through the roof. They never tell you, right? If there's no MediShield Life, then you depend only on the subsidy, and your taxes will shoot through the roof... 'When something sounds so good, it is usually fake.' The SDP's housing policies appear to have taken a leaf from the Progress Singapore Party's book, he said. It is proposing to remove the cost of land from the price of Build-To-Order and Sale of Balance units to lower the cost of Housing Board flats. The idea may sound appealing, Mr Ong said, but he questioned the broader implications of such a policy move, asking what effect it would have on existing homeowners and the overall resale market. He said: 'If you have a proposal or an alternative, be prepared to be scrutinised by the PAP and by the people. SDP proposals, they don't have a snowball's chance of contributing to a thriving Singapore. 'Their proposals show that the SDP doesn't know how public policies work. They don't seem to really understand the experiences of other countries and learn from them. These are populists calls to get them a ride to Parliament.' It may be the opposition's role to challenge the status quo by being a critic of national policies, but the true test comes when it is time to take over and govern – a role that the PAP has to do every day since it is in government, added Mr Ong. 'We do, they talk. We implement, they claim credit. In terms of policy contributions, in terms of affecting the lives of Singaporeans, the opposition is a pale shadow of the PAP government,' he said. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
