Ex-Changi Airport Group employee charged with graft
Henry Goh Keng Hwee, a former technical officer with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport Group (Singapore), was charged in court with 28 counts of corruption on March 11, 2015. Photo: Wee Teck Hian
SINGAPORE — A former employee of the Changi Airport Group (CAG) and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) was charged with 28 counts of graft today (March 11), including six for accepting nearly S$44,000 in bribes from a vendor in return for helping the firm secure contracts.
The remaining 22 charges relate to Goh allegedly deceiving CAG and CAAS into awarding contracts to Fire-Mech by using more expensive, fake competing bids to make the firm’s prices appear to be the lowest.
Henry Goh Keng Hwee, 44, is accused of pocketing at least S$43,780 from Mr Kang Leong Chuan, a director of mechanical engineering firm Fire-Mech, between October 2008 and early 2011. In return, he is said to have used bogus quotations prepared by Kang to pose as competing bids.
Goh allegedly also gave Kang extra time to prepare quotations for work offered by his former employers.
When asked if action has been taken against Mr Kang, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) declined to comment.
For corruptly accepting gratification and knowingly misleading his previous employers, Goh faces a maximum jail sentence of five years and/or a fine of up to S$100,000 for each charge, if convicted.
He will return to court on April 23.
In a statement, the CPIB said Singapore has “always adopted a zero tolerance approach towards corruption”, and that the agency will not hesitate to prosecute any party involved in such acts.
“When employees place their personal gains above the interest of their employer, no (number) of good procurement systems can stop unfair advantages and corrupt practices,” it added.
