Skip to main content

Facilities Manager Sentenced in School Procurement Bribery

 



A facilities manager at St Joseph's Institution has been sentenced to prison for operating a sophisticated bribery scheme that netted him over $67,000 from school vendors across more than four years. Ng Cher Him, 58, received a 15-month and four-week jail term on October 30th after pleading guilty to multiple corruption charges under Singapore's Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court heard that Ng exploited his influential position within the school's procurement process to orchestrate a systematic kickback operation. As the facilities manager, he held substantial authority in selecting vendors for various school projects and maintenance work. His scheme involved collaborating with multiple suppliers to artificially inflate project quotations, with the marked-up amounts being funneled directly back to him as illicit payments.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Maximilian Chew detailed how Ng's operation worked: he would first disclose SJI's project budgets to favored vendors, then share competing bids from other companies to ensure his collaborators could submit the most strategically priced quotations. Finally, he would recommend that the school award contracts to these complicit vendors, effectively rigging the procurement process.

The corruption began in January 2018 when Ng approached Renee Song Mui Kuan, a sales manager at an interior furnishing company. He explicitly proposed that she pay him kickbacks in exchange for being awarded more school projects. Song complied, fearing that refusal would cost her company future business opportunities. Between January 2019 and September 2022, Ng accepted over $52,000 from Song through more than twenty separate transactions.

Ng expanded his corrupt network in November 2019 by recruiting Chin Lee Lan from a security systems firm. He instructed Chin to arrange for two additional fake quotations from other companies with intentionally inflated prices, ensuring her company's bid would appear most competitive for a library CCTV installation project.

In 2020, the scheme took another turn when Ooi Kim Wei, director of an air-conditioning contractor, proactively offered Ng payments in exchange for school projects after repeatedly failing to secure SJI contracts. Ng agreed and directed Ooi to mark up a kitchen hood exhaust system upgrade quotation by $5,000, which would be paid to Ng as commission.

Throughout the scheme, Ng insisted on cash payments to avoid creating paper trails that might expose the corruption. He later explained that he needed the money to address mounting personal debts and family expenses.

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau uncovered Ng's activities in September 2022 after receiving confidential information about the bribery operation. Ng voluntarily resigned from his position at SJI on November 2nd, 2023. Although he had already spent the bribe money, he subsequently surrendered $59,600 to the state in September 2025.

The prosecution emphasized that Ng's actions unfairly disadvantaged other vendors who might have offered better quality work or more competitive pricing. The cases against the three vendors involved Song, Chin, and Ooi remain before the courts as legal proceedings continue.

Labels:
Location: Singapore

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Red Car Evades Police at Telok Blangah, Causes Accident

  A series of viral videos have captured a dramatic incident involving a red car and police officers at a traffic junction in the Telok Blangah area, believed to have occurred on November 4. The footage shows a sequence of events that includes a police confrontation and a subsequent traffic accident. The first video depicts a police vehicle stopped between a red passenger car and a public bus. Two police officers are seen exiting their official car. One officer approaches the bus driver, appearing to instruct the driver to remain at the location. The second officer moves toward the red car, stepping directly in front of it in an apparent attempt to prevent the driver from leaving. In a sudden escalation, the driver of the red car initiates a maneuver to escape. The vehicle performs a two-point turn and drives onto the road shoulder, narrowly avoiding a collision with the police officer who was standing in its path. The car is then seen driving away at speed, making a dangerous turn...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Dumb Head" Slur Causes International Pageant Chaos: Miss Universe President Steps In

  A significant public dispute erupted within the Miss Universe Organization during a major preliminary event, leading to the public shaming of a national representative, the walk-out of several delegates, and a swift organizational response. The incident involved Fatima Bosch, the 25-year-old representative of Miss Universe Mexico 2025, and Nawat Itsaragrisil, a 60-year-old Thai businessman and the Vice-President for Asia and Oceania within the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), who also serves as the director of Miss Universe Thailand and chairman of the Miss Universe Thailand Host Committee. The event, an international annual sashing ceremony, took place in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 4. Ms. Bosch was in attendance alongside 129 other contestants ahead of the finals scheduled for November 21. The confrontation, which was live-streamed on social media, occurred when Mr. Nawat publicly reprimanded Ms. Bosch. The core of the issue stemmed from Mr. Nawat’s assertion that Ms. Bosch...
Post a Comment
Read more

Four Pedestrians Hit by Car at Jurong West Junction

  An early morning traffic incident in the Jurong West area has resulted in four young pedestrians being transported to a hospital for medical attention. The accident occurred at the junction of Jurong West Street 72 and Jurong West Avenue 4. According to information released by the police, they were alerted to the incident at approximately 2:00 AM on November 1. The case involves a sixty-seven-year-old female driver and four pedestrians, whose ages are reported to be between twenty-two and twenty-three years old. The specific circumstances that led to the collision are currently under official investigation by the authorities. The Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed its involvement, stating that it responded to a call for assistance at the location at 2:15 AM. Emergency personnel assessed the four individuals at the scene. Officials reported that all four pedestrians were conscious and alert following the accident. They were subsequently conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospit...
Post a Comment
Read more