Second ex-president of ST Marine charged with graft

A SECOND ex-president of Singapore Technologies Marine Ltd (ST Marine) has been charged in court, in a corruption scandal that has implicated six of its former high level executives.

See Leong Teck, who was president of ST Marine from December 1997 and retired in February 2008, faces seven counts under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The 64-year-old is accused of conspiring with four former colleagues Mok Kim Whang, Patrick Lee Swee Ching, Teh Yew Shyan and Ong Teck Liam to corruptly bribe agents of ST Marine's customers in return for ship repair contracts between 2004 and 2010.

Court documents state that bribes amounting to more than S$556,000 were made out between May 2004 and Dec 2007 to employees of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Limited - Pyo Sei Jin and Seo Tae Kyu - as well as an unnamed staff of Myanma Five Star Line.

Mok, the former senior vice-president (Tuas Yard) of ST Marine from June 2000 to July 2004, was charged in court three weeks ago, along with Ong, and former president of ST Marine, Chang Cheow Teck.

Chang was president of ST Marine from March 2008 to April 2010 and president of ST Aerospace from May 2010 till June this year, while Ong was the group financial controller and senior vice-president of finance from April 2007 to December 2012.

Chang and Mok were charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act while Ong faces 118 counts of allegedly defrauding the company by abetting false entries in petty cash vouchers for bogus entertainment expenses.

Of the remaining senior executives implicated, Lee had served as ST Marine's group financial controller from January 2001 to October 2006 before he left to join VT Systems. He retired in October 2012.

Chang's lawyer, Hamidul Haq, said Mr Teh, who was a senior vice-president at ST Marine from 2004 to 2010, is deceased.

See's pre-trial conference has been fixed on Jan 9 and bail was offered at S$150,000.

The maximum penalty under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act is a fine of S$100,000 and a jail term of five years.

ST Marine is a wholly owned subsidiary of bluechip engineering giant Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering), a solutions and services provider in the aerospace, electronics, land systems and marine sectors. ST Engineering is controlled by Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings.