Current, former SMRT Trains employees face cheating charges amounting to almost S$10m

THREE current and former employees with SMRT Trains were hauled to court on Friday over cheating charges, in which SMRT was duped into awarding millions of dollars of contracts to two companies the trio had an interest in.

The contracts were worth about $9.8 million and the offences took place between 2007 and 2012.

The three involved are the rail operator's line manager Zulkifli Marwi, 52; former assistant engineer Zakaria Mohamed Shariff, 59; and former manager Jamalludin Jumari, 61.

A fourth man, director of Enovation Industries Akbar Ali Tambishahib, 60, was also charged with similar offences on Friday.

In a statement on Friday, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said Jamalludin, who had absconded in 2013, was found recently in Malaysia and brought back to Singapore to face charges.

The CPIB had worked closely with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to do so.

"It is an offence for employees to cheat their employers for their own personal gains and they will have to bear the full brunt of the law," said the CPIB.

Offenders convicted of cheating can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined for each charge.

All four men will be back in court on Jan 15 next year.

THE STRAITS TIMES