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Man to pay $215,000 for taking bribes
Ex-official of NLB unit escapes jail, will be witness in future probes
By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
Lim pleaded guilty to taking about $95,000 to steer IT contracts towards a schoolmate's firm while he was with eLpedia. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
A FORMER official of a National Library Board (NLB) subsidiary was convicted of corruption yesterday and handed almost $215,000 in fines and penalties.
Lim Seng Ping pleaded guilty to accepting about $95,000 in bribes to steer IT contracts towards a firm owned by a schoolmate while he was chief technical officer with eLpedia.
About the case
LIM Seng Ping was chief technical officer of eLpedia, a subsidiary of the National Library Board, when he received bribes in return for recommending the firm award contracts to the company of a former classmate.
The 54-year-old was charged with 14 counts of corruption. Prosecutors said he received $94,689 from Chia Chor Yam, the managing director of Knowledge Internet Solutions (KIS), between May 2004 and May 2005. The money was paid through Lim's company, Astersoft.
... more
The company is wholly owned by the NLB and was set up to commercialise its library automation services.
The 54-year-old Lim has agreed to be a witness in future corruption probes, said his lawyer, Mr Ravinderpal Singh.
The prosecution proceeded on three of the 14 bribery charges Lim was facing and did not push for a jail term.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Karen Ang Aiping said Lim approached his former secondary school classmate Chia Chor Yam in early 2004 to ask if he was keen to supply workers to eLpedia.
Chia, the managing director of Knowledge Internet Solutions (KIS), allegedly began making payments to Lim later that year, after Lim recommended his company for manpower contracts.
The payouts ranged from $6,300 to $11,700, with Lim receiving a cut of KIS' profits. The case against Chia, 55, is pending.
At the time of the scam, Lim was making $270,000 a year and was in charge of eLpedia's IT matters.
He was then also managing director of Astersoft, which had handled various NLB projects, including software development.
In imposing a fine of $40,000 on each of three charges, District Judge Eugene Teo said yesterday that Lim was fortunate the prosecution did not press for a jail sentence.
Lim was also ordered to pay a penalty of $94,689, the total amount of the bribes he received.
Mr Singh said Lim, a first-time offender, had contributed much to society during a life that included stints in the Singapore Armed Forces and the civil service.
In 1983, Lim was transferred to the National Computer Board and was involved in spearheading a plan to computerise the civil service.
Lim, who obtained a master's degree in computer science from the University of Southern California, left in 2000 after 25 years in the civil service to start Astersoft.
Mr Singh said since the investigation started in mid-2005, his client had not been doing any business through his company.
Lim, who has 11 other charges considered, could have been fined up to $100,000 and jailed for up to five years on each of the three corruption charges.
Ex-official of NLB unit escapes jail, will be witness in future probes
By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
Lim pleaded guilty to taking about $95,000 to steer IT contracts towards a schoolmate's firm while he was with eLpedia. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
A FORMER official of a National Library Board (NLB) subsidiary was convicted of corruption yesterday and handed almost $215,000 in fines and penalties.
Lim Seng Ping pleaded guilty to accepting about $95,000 in bribes to steer IT contracts towards a firm owned by a schoolmate while he was chief technical officer with eLpedia.
About the case
LIM Seng Ping was chief technical officer of eLpedia, a subsidiary of the National Library Board, when he received bribes in return for recommending the firm award contracts to the company of a former classmate.
The 54-year-old was charged with 14 counts of corruption. Prosecutors said he received $94,689 from Chia Chor Yam, the managing director of Knowledge Internet Solutions (KIS), between May 2004 and May 2005. The money was paid through Lim's company, Astersoft.
... more
The company is wholly owned by the NLB and was set up to commercialise its library automation services.
The 54-year-old Lim has agreed to be a witness in future corruption probes, said his lawyer, Mr Ravinderpal Singh.
The prosecution proceeded on three of the 14 bribery charges Lim was facing and did not push for a jail term.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Karen Ang Aiping said Lim approached his former secondary school classmate Chia Chor Yam in early 2004 to ask if he was keen to supply workers to eLpedia.
Chia, the managing director of Knowledge Internet Solutions (KIS), allegedly began making payments to Lim later that year, after Lim recommended his company for manpower contracts.
The payouts ranged from $6,300 to $11,700, with Lim receiving a cut of KIS' profits. The case against Chia, 55, is pending.
At the time of the scam, Lim was making $270,000 a year and was in charge of eLpedia's IT matters.
He was then also managing director of Astersoft, which had handled various NLB projects, including software development.
In imposing a fine of $40,000 on each of three charges, District Judge Eugene Teo said yesterday that Lim was fortunate the prosecution did not press for a jail sentence.
Lim was also ordered to pay a penalty of $94,689, the total amount of the bribes he received.
Mr Singh said Lim, a first-time offender, had contributed much to society during a life that included stints in the Singapore Armed Forces and the civil service.
In 1983, Lim was transferred to the National Computer Board and was involved in spearheading a plan to computerise the civil service.
Lim, who obtained a master's degree in computer science from the University of Southern California, left in 2000 after 25 years in the civil service to start Astersoft.
Mr Singh said since the investigation started in mid-2005, his client had not been doing any business through his company.
Lim, who has 11 other charges considered, could have been fined up to $100,000 and jailed for up to five years on each of the three corruption charges.
