SINGAPORE: An ex-facilities manager at St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) was jailed for 15 months and four weeks’ on Thursday (Oct 30) for receiving bribes of at least S$67,000 (US$51,600) from vendors contracted to carry out projects at the school.
For more than four years, Ng Cher Him, 58, would ask vendors to mark up their quotation submitted to SJI, with the markup to be paid to him as gratification.
He pleaded guilty to four charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act, with another five charges of a similar nature taken into consideration for sentencing. Apart from the jail term, Ng was ordered to pay a penalty of S$7,500. If he cannot pay the penalty, he will have to serve four additional weeks in jail.
SJI, located at 38 Malcolm Road, is an educational institution. As facilities manager there, Ng oversaw the general upkeep, maintenance and improvement work on its facilities, along with vendor management. Ng had around six employees reporting to him.
Due to his job role, Ng had a “substantial degree of influence in the procurement process for facilities-related goods and services in SJI”, according to court documents.
He invited vendors for jobs and projects and supported the direct award of jobs to vendors for those with a purchase value below S$6,000. For those above S$6,000, Ng would recommend that tenders for projects be awarded to certain vendors in his reports.
He would get vendors to mark up their quotations submitted to SJI, with the markup paid to him. “In other words, the offences caused the amounts paid by SJI to be inflated in order to fund the gratifications ultimately paid to the accused,” said the prosecution.
