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SINGAPORE: A partner of a company executive accused of bribing a former chief executive of Ang Mo Kio City Council (AMKTC) told a District Court Wednesday, November 7 that he had been instructed to keep "unclear" receipt registers prevent government officials from easily inquiring about them.
These expenses were incurred when the company's director, Omar Chia Sin Lan, summoned former AMKTC chief executive, Victor Wong Chee Meng, to karaoke parlors, the fourth court announced. day of the trial for corruption.
Chia, 63, was a director and principal shareholder of two companies – 19-ANC Enterprise and 19-NS2 Enterprise – which had bid and executed repair and refurbishment work for municipal councils, including AMKTC.
On Wednesday, his partner, Tay Eng Chuan, testified against him.
Tay, along with Chia, reportedly paid Wong's daughter-in-law's monthly salary of $ 1,600. Chia would also have used Mr. Tay's credit card to make the payment when he took Wong for entertainment purposes.
When he presented to her the vouchers for invoices and invoices submitted by the Deputy Chief State Board, Jiang Ke-Yue, Mr. Tay described them as a record of the cash inflows and expenditures for 19-NS2.
Tay, a 19-NS2 shareholder, told the court that Chia would give him bills for beer and "hanging flowers". This term translated from Chinese refers to the act of adorning hostesses with garlands costing more than 100 Singaporean dollars.
Speaking through an interpreter in Mandarin, Mr. Tay said, "I will total the sum and give the money to (Chia), it will be summarized and added to these records."
CHIA ASKS ME TO DESTROY THE RECIPES: WITNESS
When asked where were the receipts for these bills, Mr. Tay replied that most of them had been lost because "Chia told me not to keep these receipts in case some thing would happen in the future ".
Explaining, he said, "Chia would say – do not keep receipts of expenses incurred for drinks and hanging flowers, and to destroy them."
In addition to that, Mr. Tay stated that Chia had asked him to make unclear remarks in the records of expenses. For example, he sometimes wrote "F", sometimes "Friend" and was told not to use the same marks.
When asked why, Mr. Tay replied, "This is Chia's idea, just in case one day government officials come to check, they will not be able to easily find the fees. engaged for hanging flowers and entertainments "
The prosecutor presented to Mr. Tay one of these bills for an amount of 3 700 Singapore dollars, for a registration made on May 18, 2015. It was registered with the letters "FV".
Tay told the court that the bill had been initiated when Chia brought Wong to a karaoke parlor to "hang a flower".
He told the court that F represented "flower" and V "Victor", which refers to Wong.
Wong is accused of receiving some $ 107,000 worth of bribes from Chia between December 2014 and September 2016 in order to promote the commercial interests of Chia's companies with AMKTC.
Chia reportedly claimed from both companies the bribes he had offered to Wong. The 19-ANC and 19-NS2 have been awarded by AMKTC offers and contracts worth millions of dollars.
GIRLS AT KARAOKE LOUNGE "VERY CONVIVIAL" WITH WONG
Mr. Tay also told the court that he had gone to a karaoke lounge with Wong twice – in 2015 and 2016, both around the Chinese New Year in February, to launch a yusheng or raw fish for the occasion.
The first time, he said that Wong had asked him to go to Jalan Sultan to look for his distant relative.
This turned out to be Xu Hongmei, Wong's mistress. During dinner, Mr. Tay observed that Wong was "very worried about her and often took fish and meat dishes for her".
Upon arrival at the karaoke lounge, he noticed that Ms. Xu was "very familiar with the surroundings".
"At KTV, when we went upstairs, the hostesses were very friendly with Victor Wong and called him affectionately" Huang zhong ", which means general manager Wong," said Mr. Tay.
This made him think that it was not the first time that Wong was in the living room. While singing and drinking there, Wong hugged, kissed and touched Ms. Xu in front of everyone, Tay said. This led her to guess that she was his mistress and not his distant relative.
Chia also hugged and talked to a woman there, Tay said.
At the second release in 2016, Ms. Xu was not there and Mr. Tay noticed that the hostesses, called Chia "director xie", let him believe again that Wong and Chia regularly frequented this place.
"What were Chia and Wong doing at KTV?" asked the prosecutor.
"Drink beer, kiss women," Tay said.
"And you?"
"I was singing," said Tay. He stated that he stayed there for about an hour and a half and that the two men remained behind when Mr. Tay left.
Earlier in the day, the prosecution withdrew an accusation against Wong and Chia from the original list of 55 people.
These charges both relate to an alleged bribe from a hotel stay at the Fragrance Hotel in March 2016 worth $ 35 S, which Chia offered to Wong.
The trial will resume Thursday with Mr. Tay at the helm.
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