By Julia Ng | Posted: 08
December 2011 1031 hrs
SINGAPORE: The ex-president of the Singapore Table
Tennis Association (STTA) and former MP Choo Wee Khiang has been
charged in court with corruption.
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said from 2005 to
2007, it received several anonymous complaints against Choo,
alleging that he had charged his personal airfares, expenses, phone
bills to the Association and received gifts from Chinese coaches
and players.
Choo was the STTA at the time of the alleged offences.
Acting on the information received, the Bureau conducted an
investigation which revealed that in 2005, Choo had received
S$1,500 from Liu Zhongze, who was then a national team player, and
Luo Jie, who was then an assistant coach of the STTA, in return for
giving Liu more opportunities to represent the Association in table
tennis tournaments.
Investigation also revealed that between 2003 and 2004, Choo had
received a total of US$600 on two separate occasions from Shi Mei
Sheng, who was then a STTA coach, as a reward to Choo for approving
the use of two different training facilities in China.
Besides Choo, the former High Performance Manager of STTA Koh Li
Ping was also charged on Thursday morning.
The Bureau said between 2002 and 2003, Luo Jie, whose work pass
only permitted him to work for STTA, provided table tennis training
to students for a local secondary school.
But the school was unable to pay him for the training provided,
which amounted to S$8,400.
Luo Jie told Choo and Koh about this.
They then allegedly arranged with the principal of the school to
engage STTA in a new training arrangement with the intention to use
the proceeds received to pay Luo Jie for the outstanding
fees.
Subsequently, after STTA received the payment from the school, Koh
obtained approval from Choo to authorise a payment of S$8,400 to
Luo Jie, even though the latter did not provide any training
services under the new training arrangement.
Choo Wee Khiang was charged with three counts of corruptly
accepting gratification under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of
Corruption Act, Chapter 241) and one count of criminal breach of
trust as a servant, which is an offence under Section 408 of the
Penal Code, Chapter 224.
Koh Li Ping was charged with one count of engaging with Choo Wee
Khiang in a conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust as a
servant, an offence under Section 408 read with Section 109 of the
Penal Code, Chapter 224.
- CNA
