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SLA hit by $12m fraud involving two senior staff
By S Ramesh | Posted: 28 September 2010 1811 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has been hit by a S$12 million fraud case involving two of its senior staff.
40-year-old Koh Seah Wee, a deputy director with SLA's Technology and Infrastructure Department, faces 249 charges of cheating while a second suspect, Christopher Lim Chai Meng, a manager in the same department, is currently helping the police with investigations.
The SLA, a statutory board under the Law Ministry, uncovered the fraud in June this year.
Investigations showed that a number of irregular payments in its Technology and Infrastructure Department took place between January 2008 and March 2010, worth nearly S$12 million.
SLA posts its tenders for IT maintenance services on the government procurement website.
According to the charges against Koh, he had conspired with two others - Lim Chai Meng and Ho Yen Teck - to award the IT maintenance contracts to firms which did not deliver the services.
However, SLA paid the firms which have turned out to be fictitious. Amounts paid ranged from $2,600 to $60,000.
As deputy director of SLA's Technology and Infrastructure Department, Koh had the authority to approve payments to the firms.
Koh also faces several charges of using his ill-gotten gains to buy cars and properties.
The charges said that Koh had used the money to pay for a Lamborghini, Mercedes Benz cars, acquire property at Axis@Siglap along East Coast Terrace, and purchase various unit trusts.
The authorities have so far recovered cash and assets worth about $10 million from Koh.
Koh was charged on June 25, and he is being defended by lawyer Ravinderpal Singh. His case will be mentioned again on October 19.
Koh is now in remand as he has not been able to raise the S$1.5 million bail offered to him.
Giving details of Koh and Lim's employment with the SLA, a spokesman told Channel NewsAsia that they were deployed to SLA in March 2007 and July 2006 respectively.
Koh was posted back to the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) in March this year where he resigned on June 1.
Lim returned to IDA on 1 May 2010, and then went on no-pay leave. He has since been suspended from duty.
According to a joint statement from the SLA and the Law Ministry, SLA had finance and procurement processes in accordance with government guidelines.
However, the two SLA officers were said to have conspired with each other and the business entities involved, which enabled them to circumvent the checks and balances.
The Law Ministry set up an independent review panel following the matter in June, and SLA has since implemented the panel's recommendations to improve its tender system, such as requiring an officer from a different department to verify the request to call a quotation.
It has also reduced the financial limit for approval of financial transactions by certain levels of officers.
SLA said disciplinary investigations have commenced in respect of two officers whose oversight might have allowed the fraud to take place undetected.
These investigations are in progress, and disciplinary action will be taken, if and where found appropriate.
SLA added that it did not go public any earlier as police investigations including the tracing of assets were on-going.
Investigations against Koh are only now largely completed and another tranche of charges was tendered against Koh in court earlier Tuesday morning, and this is the first appropriate opportunity for SLA to inform the public of the case. - CNA /ls
By S Ramesh | Posted: 28 September 2010 1811 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has been hit by a S$12 million fraud case involving two of its senior staff.
40-year-old Koh Seah Wee, a deputy director with SLA's Technology and Infrastructure Department, faces 249 charges of cheating while a second suspect, Christopher Lim Chai Meng, a manager in the same department, is currently helping the police with investigations.
The SLA, a statutory board under the Law Ministry, uncovered the fraud in June this year.
Investigations showed that a number of irregular payments in its Technology and Infrastructure Department took place between January 2008 and March 2010, worth nearly S$12 million.
SLA posts its tenders for IT maintenance services on the government procurement website.
According to the charges against Koh, he had conspired with two others - Lim Chai Meng and Ho Yen Teck - to award the IT maintenance contracts to firms which did not deliver the services.
However, SLA paid the firms which have turned out to be fictitious. Amounts paid ranged from $2,600 to $60,000.
As deputy director of SLA's Technology and Infrastructure Department, Koh had the authority to approve payments to the firms.
Koh also faces several charges of using his ill-gotten gains to buy cars and properties.
The charges said that Koh had used the money to pay for a Lamborghini, Mercedes Benz cars, acquire property at Axis@Siglap along East Coast Terrace, and purchase various unit trusts.
The authorities have so far recovered cash and assets worth about $10 million from Koh.
Koh was charged on June 25, and he is being defended by lawyer Ravinderpal Singh. His case will be mentioned again on October 19.
Koh is now in remand as he has not been able to raise the S$1.5 million bail offered to him.
Giving details of Koh and Lim's employment with the SLA, a spokesman told Channel NewsAsia that they were deployed to SLA in March 2007 and July 2006 respectively.
Koh was posted back to the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) in March this year where he resigned on June 1.
Lim returned to IDA on 1 May 2010, and then went on no-pay leave. He has since been suspended from duty.
According to a joint statement from the SLA and the Law Ministry, SLA had finance and procurement processes in accordance with government guidelines.
However, the two SLA officers were said to have conspired with each other and the business entities involved, which enabled them to circumvent the checks and balances.
The Law Ministry set up an independent review panel following the matter in June, and SLA has since implemented the panel's recommendations to improve its tender system, such as requiring an officer from a different department to verify the request to call a quotation.
It has also reduced the financial limit for approval of financial transactions by certain levels of officers.
SLA said disciplinary investigations have commenced in respect of two officers whose oversight might have allowed the fraud to take place undetected.
These investigations are in progress, and disciplinary action will be taken, if and where found appropriate.
SLA added that it did not go public any earlier as police investigations including the tracing of assets were on-going.
Investigations against Koh are only now largely completed and another tranche of charges was tendered against Koh in court earlier Tuesday morning, and this is the first appropriate opportunity for SLA to inform the public of the case. - CNA /ls
