Ex-MP regrets mistake, aims to move on
Shocked when investigations started, he later realised an offence
had been committed
By Chong Chee Kin
A NEWSPAPER column penned more than 10 years ago made its way to
court yesterday, when lawyer Lee Teck Leng urged the court to be
lenient to former Member of Parliament Chng Hee Kok.
Mr Lee read out excerpts from the column lauding the former
politician as someone who made a difference to the lives of his
constituents.
It was in late 1996 and Chng was then an MP for Tampines GRC.
Then columnist Bertha Henson, now an associate editor with The
Straits Times, had described him as someone who was more than 'just
a People's Action Party backbencher'.
'Perhaps 'just' is not a good word to use here. He has done far too
much for the place I used to live in to be relegated to a 'just','
she had written.
The article was reproduced in the mitigation plea Mr Lee prepared
in court yesterday when highlighting Chng's contributions to
society.
VIDEO
Ex-MP Chng Hee Kok fined, but stays on as
NTUC Club chief
(1:56)
Chng - who was fined the maximum $5,000 yesterday for an offence
under the Companies Act - told The Straits Times about how he felt
when he became the subject of a probe by the Commercial Affairs
Department (CAD) more than a year ago.
'I was shocked when the investigations started,' he said. But as
investigations wore on, it dawned on him that he had committed an
offence under the Companies Act.
Chng, who sits on the board of eight public-listed companies, was a
director and shareholder of IT firm Stoval Technologies, a private
limited company which has dealings with a subsidiary of NTUC Club,
NCI Leisure. As a director of NCI Leisure, Chng was required by law
to disclose his shareholding in Stoval formally at NCI Leisure's
first available board meeting. But he did not, even though he did
tell a director verbally about the appointment in private.
'I'm very disappointed in myself. It was a mistake which should not
have been made,' he said. What made it worse for him was his family
worrying about the court case, said the father of two adult
children. Even his work at NTUC Club was affected. But what kept
his spirits up was his family and his bosses' unwavering support
after he told them what happened.
Now, with the case finally over, he intends to move on and put the incident behind him.
'It was a traumatic experience, for me and for my family. My work
suffered. Now I intend to make up for lost time,' he said.
[email protected]
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A MISTAKE
'I'm very disappointed in myself. It was a mistake which should not
have been made.'
FORMER MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT CHNG HEE KOK
yeah, let's move on
