Ex-MP Choo Wee Khiang's CBT trial starts

[StarshipTroopers]

Ex-MP Choo Wee Khiang's CBT trial starts
By Claire Huang | Posted: 26 February 2013 1220 hrs

File photo of Choo Wee Khiang.

SINGAPORE: The trial of former Member of Parliament Choo Wee Khiang started on Tuesday, with the prosecution giving its account of Choo's role in a conspiracy to secure payment for a trainer who was "moonlighting".

Choo, 58, faces one count of criminal breach of trust (CBT) allegedly committed in 2005 when he was president of the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA).

Three other charges of corruption allegedly committed between 2003 and 2005 have been stood down and will be dealt with separately at a later date.

Choo, who resigned from the STTA in July 2008, was charged in court in late 2011.

The prosecution said in its opening address on Tuesday that between 2001 and 2003, former assistant coach Luo Jie had been moonlighting and had provided table tennis training to students of Fuhua Secondary School.

But Luo's work pass only permitted him to work for the STTA. So the school was unable to pay him for the training.

The prosecution said an upset Luo told Choo and Koh Li Ping, STTA's then high performance manager, about this.

In June 2004, the school engaged the STTA for table tennis consultancy and coaching services.

The prosecution is accusing Choo of conspiring with Koh to use proceeds from the 2004 contract to pay Luo a total of S$8,400 for training the students of Fuhua.

Koh, 44, faces one count of abetting Choo.

Fourteen prosecution witnesses are expected to take the stand, including current STTA president Lee Bee Wah and former Fuhua Secondary School principal, Ong Kian Choon.

The court heard from two witnesses that Choo wielded a significant amount of power during his tenure as president of the association.

The maximum punishment for CBT is life imprisonment and a fine.

- CNA/ck

 

[StarshipTroopers]

Defence grills prosecution witness on working relationship with ex-STTA chief
By Claire Huang | Posted: 27 February 2013 1544 hrs

File photo of Choo Wee Khiang.

Defence grills prosecution witness on working relationship with ex-STTA chief

SINGAPORE: The trial of former Member of Parliament Choo Wee Khiang continued on Wednesday, with the defence charging that the prosecution's witness had "an axe to grind" with the accused.

Defence lawyer, K Muralidharan Pillai questioned Ms Wong Hui Leng, who was a general manager at the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA), about her working relationship with then-colleague, Koh Li Ping.

Koh, 44, is accused of abetting Choo in criminal breach of trust (CBT) during his tenure as president of the STTA.

Choo, 58, faces one count of CBT allegedly committed in 2005.

The court heard that Ms Wong had serious differences with Koh, a high performance manager at that time.

Ms Wong admitted that their working relationship was tense.

Mr Muralidharan also pointed out Ms Wong had given Koh a "D" for her performance in 2004.

This was in contrast to the "B" grade and positive assessment of Koh by Mr Wayde Clews of the Singapore Sports Council (SSC).

When he got wind of this, Choo told Ms Wong that she was being biased against Koh.

He said that Koh deserved a better grading.

The defence accused Ms Wong of bearing a grudge against Koh and Choo.

Many familiar table tennis names also came up during the cross-examination.

The prosecution's case is that Choo conspired with former manager Koh to secure payment of S$8,400 for a trainer named Luo Jie, who was "moonlighting" at Fuhua Secondary School between 2001 and 2003.

But Mr Muralidharan pointed out that private coaching by trainers was common at STTA.

He listed former national player Jing Jun Hong, now the women's national coach, as one of those who did so.

The defence also tried to make the point that payment from STTA to its players or coaches were common.

It named former national player Li Jia Wei as one who received payment from the association.

The defence said given these practices, it was not improper for STTA to pay Luo when it received money from Fuhua Secondary.

But Ms Wong explained that the contract that was struck by Choo was between STTA and the school, so any chargeable fee should go to the association and not to Luo.

As for the marked difference in appraisal, Ms Wong said Koh was in the marketing division for about half a year and then moved to the high performance division later.

She added that Koh spent more time at the STTA than she did at SSC.

Fourteen prosecution witnesses are expected to take the stand, including current STTA President Lee Bee Wah and a former principal of Fuhua Secondary School, Mr Ong Kian Choon.

Choo faces three other charges of corruption, allegedly committed between 2003 and 2005.

They have been stood down and will be dealt with separately at a later date.

Choo, who resigned from the STTA in July 2008, was charged in court in late 2011.

The trial continues.

- CNA/xq

 

[StarshipTroopers]

Procedures, practices were "wanting": ex-STTA president
By Claire Huang | Posted: 28 February 2013 1657 hrs

SINGAPORE: In the third day of the trial of former president of the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA), Choo Wee Khiang revealed that certain practices at the association were wanting.

58-year-old Choo, a former Member of Parliament, faces one count of criminal breach of trust allegedly committed in 2005, during his tenure at STTA as president.

The prosecution is alleging that Choo conspired with a former manager, Koh Li Ping, to secure payment of S$8,400 for coach Luo Jie, who "moonlighted" at Fuhua Secondary School between 2001 to 2003.

Koh, 44, is accused of abetting Choo.

On Thursday, the prosecution's third witness, Amy Ng Soo Kiew, said she was told by two cheque signatories that they would sign the cheque, which made payment to Luo, if Choo approved them.

The two were the former honorary treasurer and vice-president.

Ms Ng said Choo had approved of the payment to Luo and so she approached the two signatories with the payment voucher and cheque.

They went through the documents before approving them.

When asked, Ms Ng said she did not think it was right to pay Luo using proceeds from the contract between STTA and Fuhua, but she said Koh instructed her to do so.

She said since Choo approved it, she followed Koh and Choo's instructions.

Earlier in the day, she admitted there was no uniform term used to indicate fees of trainers who carried out private coaching.

Her entries in the ledgers and payment voucher had terms including "coaching fees" and "coaching allowances".

These terms were used interchangeably.

A fourth witness, Bi Fenghua, who was a coach at STTA, also testified in court.

It is understood that when the trial resumes on 11 March, Fuhua Secondary's former principal, Ong Kian Choon, would take the stand later in the week.

Mr Ong had come to an agreement with Choo for STTA to provide it with table tennis training services.

The prosecution's case is that Choo and Koh gave most of the proceeds from this deal to Luo for his previous "moonlighting" at the school.

Apart from one count of criminal breach of trust, Choo faces three other charges of corruption, allegedly committed between 2003 and 2005.

They have been stood down and will be dealt with separately at a later date.

Choo, who resigned from the STTA in July 2008, was charged in court in late 2011.

The trial continues.

- CNA/ck/xq

 

[CarrotHead]

Ex-teacher promised "moonlighting" ex-coach he would be paid
By Claire Huang | Posted: 12 March 2013 1619 hrs

SINGAPORE: The trial of former chief of the Singapore Table Tennis Association, Choo Wee Khiang, continued on Tuesday.

The court heard that a former teacher of Fuhua Secondary School had promised a former table tennis coach "moonlighting" at the school that he would be paid.

The testimony came from the school's former principal, Ong Kian Choon.

Choo is accused of conspiring with a former manager, Koh Li Ping, to secure payment of S$8,400 for coach Luo Jie, who "moonlighted" at Fuhua Secondary School between 2001 to 2003.

58-year-old Choo, a former Member of Parliament, faces one count of criminal breach of trust apparently committed in 2005, during his tenure at STTA as president.

Koh, 44, is accused of abetting Choo.

The court heard in 2001, Mr Ong was informed by the head of Physical Education and Co-curricular Activity, Eikman Teo Hoe Aik, that Mr Luo was training the school's table tennis team.

Mr Teo sought permission twice to pay Mr Luo but the requests were denied as Mr Luo was on work permit.

This meant Mr Luo was not in a position to sign a formal contract with the school and so the school would not be able to pay him.

In late August in 2003, Koh called Mr Ong and told him the school owed Mr Luo money.

Koh had said a teacher promised Mr Luo that he would be paid.

Mr Ong said the person who made the promise might have been "Ms Chan", who was an English teacher at the school then.

The former principal said he initiated a meeting to clarify that the school had no intention of cheating Mr Luo.

At the meeting, Mr Ong explained the circumstances to Choo, who said he will deal with the matter internally.

Choo then suggested a programme for STTA to provide training to the school.

When prosecution asked if the suggestion was related to the issue of paying Mr Luo, Mr Ong said he thought they were two separate matters.

Also at the meeting was STTA's then-general manager, Wong Hui Leng.

Ms Wong, now the STTA's chief executive officer, had testified last month that Choo had adopted an intimidating tone when he asked Mr Ong how the payment matter could be resolved.

She said Choo mentioned he knew Mr Ong was retiring and that this matter could affect the principal's retirement. Ms Wong said Mr Ong was silent when he heard this.

She added that Choo then came up with a proposal for STTA to offer consultancy and training services to the school, which Fuhua will pay for. The court also heard that Choo had described this as a "win-win-situation".

But Mr Ong said he did not recall feeling intimidated by Choo at the meeting.

The 64-year-old added that he did remember Choo making a remark about a "win-win-situation".

Earlier, the prosecution re-examined its sixth witness, Soon Min Sin, who was STTA's former vice-president.

On Monday, Mr Soon said he spoke to Ms Wong about the evidence she gave in court as the prosecution's third witness.

This prompted Choo's lawyer, K Muralidharan Pillai, to charge that Mr Soon's testimony on Monday depended on what Ms Wong told him and that the evidence is unreliable.

On Tuesday, Mr Soon said Ms Wong told him that she was not allowed to discuss the evidence so he asked her for facts like which year he was the honorary secretary of STTA, and when he became the vice president.

When asked if he bears any grudge against Choo or Koh, Mr Soon said that he does not.

The trial continues.

- CNA/xq

 

[CarrotHead]

Former principal testifies in trial of ex-MP Choo Wee Khiang
Posted: 13 March 2013 2221 hrs

SINGAPORE: The former principal of Fuhua Secondary School, Ong Kian Choon, testified in the criminal breach of trust trial involving Choo Wee Khiang for a second day on Wednesday.

Choo is accused of criminal breach of trust in 2005 while he was the Singapore Table Tennis Association's president.

The former Member of Parliament allegedly conspired with then manager, Koh Li Ping, to secure payment of S$8,400 for coach Luo Jie, who "moonlighted" at Fuhua Secondary School between 2001 and 2003.

Mr Ong told the court that the school's former physical education and co-curricular activity head had tried to find out if a school fund could be used to pay Mr Luo.

The former head also submitted a report to Mr Ong which stated that payment to Luo would be deferred as he was not yet a Permanent Resident and was not allowed to work part-time.

The defence alleged that the report was such that the school could only pay Mr Luo after he obtained his permanent residency in July 2003.

The defence also charged that Mr Ong intended to pay Mr Luo and struck a deal with STTA for it to provide coaching services.

The trial continues.

- CNA/al

 

[General Veers]

Defence sets out its case in former STTA president's trial

By Claire Huang
POSTED: 27 May 2013 10:46 PM

SINGAPORE: The trial of the former president of the Singapore Table Tennis Association, Choo Wee Khiang, resumed on Monday, with the defence setting out its case.

Fifty-eight-year-old Choo is accused of criminal breach of trust in 2005 during his tenure as the association's president.

The former Member of Parliament allegedly tried to secure payment of S$8,400 for coach Luo Jie, who "moonlighted" at Fuhua Secondary School between 2001 and 2003.

Then manager, 44-year-old Koh Li Ping, is accused of intentionally aiding Choo with this payment.

On Monday, Choo's lawyer, K Muralidharan Pillai, said that the prosecution had been misled by its key witnesses.

He also told the court that Choo had chosen not to testify in his own defence.

By not testifying, it is possible the court may draw negative inferences as to Choo's guilt. But Mr Pillai explained that Choo had nothing to add to what had been mentioned in Koh's statement to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

He said that in her statement, Koh had provided details of the facts and circumstances leading to payments by the association to Mr Luo.

Mr Pillai added that reasons precipitating Choo's approval of the payments were all recorded and had been admitted as evidence.

"In Mr Choo's assessment, the prosecution's evidence does not satisfy the evidential threshold on a standard of 'beyond reasonable doubt', making it unnecessary for him (to) give evidence in his own defence," said Mr Pillai.

In his opening address, Mr Pillai said he noted a few significant shifts in the prosecution's position.

Firstly, amendments were made to the original charge just a week before the trial.

Secondly, Mr Luo's evidence led to the prosecution's request for an adjournment to conduct further investigations.

Mr Pillai said this suggests "the prosecution appears to have been misled by its key witnesses".

He asked the court to not draw adverse inference for Choo's decision not to testify.

Earlier in the day, the district judge asked the parties to make submissions on the abetment element in Koh's charge.

This comes after Koh's lawyer Peter Low argued that the prosecution's case had not shown that she had conspired with Choo.

The charge against her has now been amended to abetment by intentionally aiding Choo.

Koh will continue to take the stand in her own defence on Tuesday.

- CNA/ms

 

[General Veers]

I "took instructions" from former STTA president, says former manager

POSTED: 28 May 2013 7:17 PM

SINGAPORE: A 2004 contract worth some S$9,600 between the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) and Fuhua Secondary School was a means for the school to "reimburse" a coach through the association.

STTA's former manager Koh Li Ping maintained this when she took the stand in her own defence for the second day.

She is accused of abetment by intentionally aiding former Member of Parliament Choo Wee Khiang to use proceeds from the 2004 contract to pay the coach who was moonlighting.

Choo, 58, was then the STTA president. He is standing trial for one count of Criminal Breach of Trust.

On Monday, Choo said that he will not take the stand in his own defence.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Alan Loh said that the money from the contract, which was for table tennis consultancy and coaching services, belonged to the STTA.

He suggested that when Koh, 44, arranged for payments to be made to the coach (Luo Jie), she knew that the STTA's funds were being used to pay the coach for money he was not entitled to, and had no basis to receive.

Luo provided private coaching services to students from Fuhua Secondary School between 2001 and 2003, and the school could not pay him as his employment pass only permitted him to work for the STTA.

Koh insisted that she was not aware that Luo was on an employment pass at the time, and maintained that she was only taking instructions from Choo to settle the matter with Fuhua Secondary School, in relation to Luo's payments.

DPP Loh also pointed out that Koh had been the one to obtain approval from Choo to make two alleged payments totalling S$8,400 to Luo. Koh had thus aided in allowing money that belonged to STTA to be paid to him when he was not entitled to it.

Some of Koh's answers on the stand prompted DPP Loh, on more than one occasion, to say she was being "untruthful" as they did not match what she had said in an earlier statement to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

The hearing, which is into its second tranche, is expected to wrap up on Wednesday.

- CNA/de

 

[kingrant]

Are they going to purposely screw up the prosecution's witness procedure that the whole thing gets squashed?

 

[scroobal]

Interesting case - ex PAP MP defended by future PAP candidate for Aljunied.

 

[General Veers]

Verdict of STTA trial involving ex-MP Choo Wee Khiang on 26 July

By Alvina Soh
POSTED: 29 May 2013 2:22 PM

File photo of Choo Wee Khiang.

SINGAPORE: A district court will hand down its verdict on the criminal breach of trust case involving former president of the Singapore Table Tennis Association Choo Wee Khiang on 26 July.

This is after the defence and prosecution lawyers wrapped up the case on Wednesday after two tranches of the hearing.

58-year-old Choo, who is also a former Member of Parliament, is currently standing trial for one count of criminal breach of trust.

He is accused of committing the offence in 2005 during his tenure as the association's president.

He allegedly tried to secure payment of S$8,400, using STTA's funds to pay coach Luo Jie, who moonlighted at Fuhua Secondary School between 2001 and 2003.

Choo is being tried alongside STTA's high performance manager Koh Li Ping, who is accused of abetment by intentionally aiding Choo with this payment.

Koh, who is also a former national table tennis player, took the stand in her own defence for the third day in a row.

The 44-year-old maintained that she was "kept in the dark" about many of the issues in the organisation.

She added that she was operating under instructions from Choo on Luo's payment.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Alan Loh accused Koh of being "dishonest" and sought to show that she was unfair in her treatment of coaches.

The court heard that STTA had terminated the contract of a previous coach Sang Zhi Min, who was also giving unauthorized private coaching sessions.

DPP Loh pointed out that Luo's case was handled differently, and that Koh did not report Luo to the STTA committee.

DPP Loh then suggested that Koh did not report the matter as she was unable to explain why the treatment of the two coaches differed.

Koh disagreed, saying that both cases were different.

She said that Luo's private coaching at Fuhua Secondary School took place before she assumed her post.

On the other hand, Koh pointed out that Sang "fell under (her) care" and he was "caught" under the policies she had set.

DPP Loh also grilled Koh on her accountability in the case, saying that Koh had "condoned the act by helping Luo Jie get his money back."

DPP Loh further described it as "an honest misappropriation" as what Koh did caused a "wrongful gain to Luo Jie who was not entitled to receive that money."

Choo, who is represented by K Muralidharan Pillai, did not take the stand.

The defence and the prosecution will make their submissions on 27 June.

- CNA/xq

 

[General Veers]

STTA trial: Coach 'not paid after 2 years' work'

Former STTA president Choo Wee Khiang (left), 58, and his lieutenant, Koh Li Ping, 44, are accused of embezzling $8,400 while working at the STTA. That money was said to have been used to pay table tennis coach Luo Jie.

By Lim Yan Liang
The Straits Times
Friday, Mar 29, 2013

SINGAPORE - Table tennis coach Luo Jie told a court on Tuesday how he had held weekly training sessions at Fuhua Secondary for more than two years, but did not receive a cent in payment despite repeated promises that he would be paid.

After he stopped moonlighting there in 2003, he was told that his services had been treated as "voluntary" by the school.

The former Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) coach claims he was owed over $10,000.

The trial of former STTA president Choo Wee Khiang, 58, - charged with criminal breach of trust as an agent - and his lieutenant, Koh Li Ping, 44, heard Mr Luo was party to a 2001 verbal agreement between teacher Doreen Chan and his predecessor, Mr Chen Wen, that he would be paid the same $40-an-hour rate.

Mr Luo said that after more than a month of coaching, Ms Chan told him the head of physical education Eikman Teo was doing the accounts. At the end of 2001, Mr Luo said the school wanted to sign a contract with him, after which he would be paid.

But Mr Teo later told him that his work permit did not allow him to sign a contract, adding that his coaching fees would still be paid - but only in 2002 as "all the money had been spent" that year.

In the middle of 2002, Mr Luo again approached Mr Teo, who said he could not be paid until he became a permanent resident. He stopped coaching at the school around February 2003, but returned in July that year when he became a permanent resident, only to be told that the school had considered him a volunteer. This was when Mr Luo said he had told Choo about the matter.

Mr Luo was quizzed at length over what transpired at a meeting between Choo and school principal Ong Kian Choon to resolve the issue. Mr Luo said he was called into the meeting for just two minutes. Testifying for the prosecution, Mr Luo said he only exchanged greetings with Mr Ong and left "after a short while".

That night, Choo told him the STTA was "asking for the money back on my behalf" and that "Fuhua's principal had agreed". Choo added that the school "might impose some conditions", like getting STTA coaches to train its students. Mr Luo later got two cheques totalling $8,400.

Quizzed by defence counsel Murali Pillai, Mr Luo appeared to change his mind and agreed Mr Ong told him at the meeting that the school was not inclined to deceive him by not paying his fees, and it would pay for his services.

The defence also sought to show the court that Mr Luo's unhappiness with Koh might have been personal. Mr Luo disagreed and said Koh's interventions had interfered with his coaching.

STTA president Lee Bee Wah is expected to take the stand when the trial resumes on Wednesday.

[email protected]

 

[General Veers]

Preferential treatment given to STTA coach Luo Jie: Prosecution

Picture of Luo Jie, former assistant coach with Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA). The former Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) high performance manager on trial for abetting to embezzle $8,400 had double standards in the treatment of coaches who had flouted private coaching rules, the prosecution said on Wednesday.

 

[Slayer]

Updated: 07/30/2013 16:54 | By Channel NewsAsia

Ex-STTA chief's acquittal: prosecution files notice of appeal

SINGAPORE: The prosecution in the criminal breach of trust (CBT) case against former Singapore Table Tennis Association President Choo Wee Khiang has filed a notice of appeal, asking for the judge's written full decision for acquittal.

In a statement, the Attorney-General's Chambers said the prosecution will study it and decide whether or not an appeal is warranted.

On July 26, a district court acquitted Choo of CBT.

Choo, who is also a former Member of Parliament, was accused of committing the offence in 2005 during his tenure as head of the association.

He was accused of misappropriating S$8,400 of the association's funds to pay its assistant coach, who moonlighted as a table tennis coach at Fuhua Secondary School between 2001 and 2003.

The association's former high performance manager Koh Li Ping was also acquitted of helping Choo commit the offence.

Choo still has three remaining stood-down charges related to corruption.

These three charges will remain stood down pending the prosecution's possible appeal against the acquittal.

The next date for a pre-trial conference has been fixed for September 12. - CNA/fa

 

[Slayer]

Notice of appeal filed over ex-STTA head's acquittal

Choo Wee Khiang is also claiming trial against three corruption charges.

Khushwant Singh
The Straits Times
Friday, Aug 02, 2013

SINGAPORE - The prosecution has filed a notice of appeal over the acquittal of former Singapore Table Tennis Association president Choo Wee Khiang.

The 59-year-old was cleared last week of misappropriating $8,400 from the association in 2005.

Ms Koh Li Ping, a 45-year-old former high-performance manager with the association, was also cleared of abetting Choo to commit the offence.

The Attorney-General's Chambers said on Tuesday that the prosecution has filed a notice of appeal against both verdicts.

Its spokesman added: "If the prosecution decides to proceed with an appeal after studying the full grounds of decision, the prosecution will then file a petition of appeal."

Choo is also claiming trial against three corruption charges, which have been stood down for the time being.

He is alleged to have accepted $1,500 from a teenage player in 2005 to give him more opportunities to play in tournaments.

Choo is also accused of accepting a total of US$600 (S$760) from the association's coach, Shi Mei Sheng, in 2003 and 2004, to approve the use of two training facilities in China.

The former Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC was not in court for Tuesday's pre-trial conference, which was related to the corruption charges.

The next conference will be held on Sept 12.

Choo stepped down from the association in 2008 after nearly 20 years at the helm.

He is widely credited with Singapore's silver medal success at the 2008 Olympics and was last understood to be involved in golf course management.