SINGAPORE – A company director who gave more than $216,000 in bribes to an employee of the Singapore Management University (SMU) has had his jail sentence almost halved to a year and three months on appeal.
Kenneth Lum Hsien Loong was originally handed two years and four months’ jail by a district judge in October 2024 for giving bribes to Christopher Tan Toh Nghee. The latter was then an associate director of business development at SMU Academy, the university’s professional training arm.
Lum, 48, who was found guilty of 10 charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) following a trial, appealed against his conviction and sentence.
On April 29, a three-judge High Court panel allowed the appeal against sentence as it found that the original jail term was manifestly excessive, given the low levels of harm and culpability involved.
In its written judgment, the court said it was not clear that SMU and third parties had suffered any tangible or quantifiable loss as a result of the corrupt transactions.
The judges pointed out that it was Tan who initiated the request for kickbacks after Lum’s company, a marketing and events firm, entered into a business arrangement with SMU.
Tan, who received more than $472,000 in bribes from Lum and two other men, was sentenced to 3½ years in jail in July 2024. The other two men were also convicted and jailed.
Lum paid the bribes to preserve a legitimate business relationship rather than to secure an opportunity that he would not have otherwise had, the court said.
He also did not actively seek to subvert SMU’s interests, the court added.
