SINGAPORE — Leading opposition party, Workers’ Party, has filed 16 Parliamentary Questions for the upcoming Parliament sitting over two controversial issues that have popped up over the past month.
The first issue is the decision by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to issue stern warnings to six former executives of the Keppel Offshore and Marine Limited (KOM) in lieu of prosecution for offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The offences relate to bribe payments to officials of Petrobras, pertaining to rigs-building contracts which Petrobras and/or its related companies had awarded to KOM, which were said to span over more than a decade.
While CPIB states that the matter is “complex and transnational”, involving multiple authorities and witnesses from several countries. Many have pointed out that KOM had already pleaded guilty to the offences in a plea agreement with the United States Department of Justice (DoJ).
Furthermore, one of the six was a DoJ’s prosecution witness who had testified against the other five.
Former Singtel CEO and former Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Lee Hsien Yang, commented that the decision not to prosecute will “cause more damage” to Singapore’s reputation than the reprehensible acts that were perpetrated and that it “stands in stark contrast” to Singapore’s widely touted policy of zero tolerance to corruption.
The second issue is the sacking or punishing of staff from SPH Media Trust (SMT) for the misrepresentation of circulation figures of its publications.
It was first reported by Wake Up Singapore (WUSG) on 8 January that several senior executives were either sacked or disciplined after an internal review discovered lapses in the reporting of circulation figures.
A day following WUSG’s report, SPH Media admitted to the matter via a report in the Straits Times but has not issued any public statement on it to date.
SMT’s CEO was said to have told staff to “let the matter rest” during a town hall meeting over the actions taken against the staff involved in the misrepresentation of circulation figures. No response has been received from SPH Media in regard to the clarification sought over this matter.
SMT’s chairman and former People’s Action Party minister, Khaw Boon Wan, has kept quiet on the scandal.
Public outcry over the lack of transparency and accountability in this scandal is centred around the fact that SMT is not just a private enterprise but an entity that is funded by the Singapore government up to S$180 million a year for a period of five years or S$900 million in total.
So far, no public statements by the ministries have been issued over the two issues.
The next Parliament sitting has been scheduled to commence at 12 pm on 6 February 2023.
Below is the full list of Parliamentary Questions the WP MPs have filed.
Topics Related to Keppel Offshore and Marine Limited
1) Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how did the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau arrive at the decision to issue stern warnings to the six former management staff of Keppel Offshore and Marine Limited (KOM) given the size of the bribes given to officials from the Brazilian state-owned corporation Petroleo Brasileiro SA which amounted to S$73 million and the size of the fine KOM paid which amounted to US$422 million; and (b) whether a detailed account of the facts behind the bribes payment can be provided.
2) Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Prime Minister whether it is in the public interest to disclose the names of the six former management staff of Keppel Offshore and Marine Limited (KOM) who were given stern warnings for their roles in the giving of S$73 million bribes to officials from the Brazilian state-owned corporation Petroleo Brasileiro SA, notwithstanding the practice of not disclosing the names of persons who have been given stern warnings.
3) Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Prime Minister why the statement of facts contained in the Deferred Prosecution Agreement concluded between Keppel Offshore and Marine Limited with the United States Department of Justice dated 22 December 2017 is not considered sufficient, available, and appropriate evidence of the six former senior management staff’s culpability for them to be charged with corruption in Singapore.
4) Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Prime Minister since the conclusion of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement between Keppel Offshore and Marine limited and the United States Department of Justice in December 2017 (a) how many times has CPIB reached out to witnesses overseas or sought to obtain documents located overseas; (b) when did these actions take place; and (c) what have the responses of the overseas witnesses or organisations been when contacted.
5) Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Prime Minister (a) why is CPIB not naming the six former senior management staff of Keppel Offshore and Marine limited who have been issued stern warnings in lieu of prosecution for offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act; and (b) whether their ages and nationalities can be revealed.
6) Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs in each of the last five years (a) whether the Ministry has records of how many Singapore companies have been (i) investigated and (ii) found guilty of offences under foreign legislation such as the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act or other equivalents; and (b) if so, what is the breakdown for such figures.
7) Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister based on investigations into the Keppel Offshore and Marine Limited corruption case conducted by CPIB (a) what are the offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1960 (PCA) that were considered for prosecution for the six individuals; and (b) what is the maximum penalty for these offences under the PCA.
8) Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister in deciding against prosecuting the six individuals involved in the Keppel Offshore and Marine Limited corruption case (a) what weightage has been given to the various relevant factors such as the culpability of each individual, the available evidence and what is appropriate in the circumstances; and (b) whether this is consistent with the Government’s political commitment and leadership and a culture of zero tolerance against corruption.
9) Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the decision not to prosecute the six individuals who are involved in the Keppel Offshore and Marine Limited corruption case in Brazil represents a departure from the Government’s stated stance of zero tolerance towards corruption; and (b) whether the said decision will have an impact on deterring Singaporeans at home or abroad from committing corrupt acts in a manner that makes prosecution similarly difficult.
10) Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister how will the decision not to prosecute the six individuals who were involved in the Keppel Offshore and Marine Limited corruption case in Brazil likely to affect the reputation of Singapore and Singaporean companies for having a policy of zero tolerance towards corruption.
Topics relating to SPH falsification of circulation data
1) Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether the Ministry will require SPH Media Trust (SMT) to disclose (i) the reasons why the inconsistencies in the daily circulation numbers of SPH Media’s publications took a long time to be discovered and made public and (ii) what is being done to strengthen governance over such matters; and (b) how will these inconsistencies impact the Government’s commitment to fund SMT.
2) Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what is the total number of newspaper copies that were printed, counted and destroyed by SPH Media or its predecessor company for the entire duration of the scheme to inflate circulation numbers; (b) what is the estimated total weight of paper used; and (c) what is the environmental impact of these actions.
3) Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information regarding the Ministry’s review of SPH Media following their admission of falsification of circulation data (a) what are the terms of reference of this review; (b) when did this review begin and when will it be completed; (c) what have the findings been so far; (d) whether the report will be made public; and (e) what are the conditions under which public funding to SPH Media will be removed or reduced.
4) Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what was the source of the figures cited on 10 May 2021 in Parliament that SPH’s newspapers’ circulation had grown by 5% and The Straits Times’ circulation had grown by 20% from 2017 to 2020; (b) how much bearing did this data have on the Government’s decision to fund SPH Media; and (c) whether the Minister still considers this data reliable in light of recent admissions by SPH Media.
5) Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether individuals involved in initiating and perpetuating the inflated circulation figures in SPH Media Trust have been referred to the police for further investigation; and (b) if so, how many have been referred to the police for further investigation.
6) Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what actions will be taken against SPH Media Trust (SMT) to hold it accountable for the inconsistencies in the reported daily circulation data; and (b) whether there will be a review to the Government’s previous announcement that it will fund SMT and provide up to $900 million in funding support over the next five years.
Ministers can get away with excuses that ordinary citizens can't
Minister Josephine Teo said yesterday that the inflated circulation data scandal of SPH Media Trust (SMT) would not affect the government’s commitment to fund SMT up to $900 million over five years.
She stressed that circulation numbers were not a key consideration in funding requirements—the focus was on reach and readership.
While the two are not synonymous, they are related – higher circulation implies higher readership. More importantly, when something illegitimate happens, it upsets the apple cart and changes the equation completely.
To give an analogy: assuming that you are the hiring manager for someone later found to have a fake university degree. You conduct a review and recommend to senior management that the status quo remains, that no action be taken because university degree was not a key consideration in the hiring decision—the focus was on work experience.
Not only will you be laughed at, you will get a tongue-lashing for trying to play a silly game and missing the forest for the trees.
Ministers quite often provide explanations or excuses that either blur the lines or add insult to injury.
Disruption of train services? Minister Ong Ye Kung attributed it to an “honest mistake.” When Tamil text in a public notice was wrongly replaced with Hindi text, Minister S Iswaran too called it an “honest mistake.”
Over the years, how many times has this “honest mistake” of an excuse been bandied about?
Now, if you make a mistake at work and the boss demands an explanation, you would likely be in trouble for saying “honest mistake.”
You could earn a rebuke: Trying to be clever huh? Is there such a thing as a dishonest mistake? You better apologise and hope there are no further repercussions.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a major outbreak at foreign worker dormitories. Minister Lawrence Wong explained why the outbreak was not prevented: “Unfortunately, we do not have the benefit of hindsight.”
Try giving that excuse when the project you are overseeing takes a bad turn. Your boss will tell you that you are paid to anticipate and solve problems, not lament about the lack of hindsight. If you are lucky, you get away with only a reprimand. But do not expect to be tasked to lead another project for a long, long time.
When a Covid-19 cluster occurred at Changi Airport, Minister Ong Ye Kung—like an action movie director—said that a “very virulent” variant of the virus “broke through” the layers of defence at the aviation hub, despite the best efforts of everyone.
If you are an IT guy and a computer virus wreaks havoc on the office system, you could attempt a similarly colourful excuse about a vicious virus breaking through the barriers and defences put up. Except that your boss could slam you for watching too many Hollywood movies: You think the virus is Rambo or Terminator, is it?
You may recall the uproar over a whopping S$410,00 consultancy fee paid to construct a S$470,000 rubbish bin centre by the National Arts Council. The Auditor General’s Office Report flagged the “exceptionally high” consultancy fee.
Minister Grace Fu defended the costs incurred, claiming it was a “complex project which required significantly more design expertise.”
Let’s say you are managing the facilities for an industrial building and you commit close to half a million dollars for a rubbish bin centre, most of it as consultancy fee. All hell breaks break loose if the top management finds out. You could always give the excuse that it was a complex project—but be prepared to be kicked out of the building for not using your common sense.
So we, the working class, the rank-and-file wage earners, have little to no hope of getting away with excuses like the Ministers.
Perhaps none has been as masterful as former Minister Khaw Boon Wan. When a tunnel flooding disrupted a Downtown Line open house, he said: “Sometimes things will happen, but then it happens on when we were having our open house, then that is bad luck.”
Hmm . . . . bad luck! Why didn’t anyone think of that? It can be applied for any situation.
The next time something terrible happens at work, try telling the boss, can’t be helped, bad luck. Wonder what the reaction would be.
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2023/02/07/ministers-get-away-with-excuses-that-ordinary-citizens-cannot-hope-to-get-away-with
Singapore Defends Lack of Charges in $55 Million Bribery Case
Singapore’s government defended a decision not to prosecute key figures at Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. over a major bribery case involving payments to Brazil’s state-run energy company.
“Simply put, there is a lack of sufficient evidence, either documentary or through witnesses, which would establish any criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt against a specific individual,” Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, told the city-state’s parliament on Monday.
Rajah’s comments came in response to parliamentary questions over Singapore’s decision not to press charges against six former senior managers of Keppel O&M for their alleged involvement in a bribery scandal that cost the company $422 million in total fines. Such a case is rare in Singapore, ranked fifth least corrupt on Transparency International’s latest annual index.
Keppel O&M agreed in 2017 to pay $422 million to end a U.S. probe into illegal payments to officials of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA. Keppel’s US unit pleaded guilty while the Singapore-based parent entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement with the US government.
Sembcorp Marine, in which state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte is the biggest shareholder, agreed to acquire Keppel O&M last year.
Last month, Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau issued “stern warnings” to the six former senior managers of Keppel O&M in lieu of prosecution for offenses punishable under the corruption law.
The unnamed individuals allegedly had conspired to pay a total of $55 million in bribes to foreign consultants involved in the company’s business interests in Brazil, according to the CPIB statement in January. The anti-graft agency cited the cross-jurisdiction nature and complexity of the case, along with difficulties in obtaining evidence for prosecution, for not taking further action.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/singapore-defends-lack-of-charges-in-55-million-bribery-case-1.1879826
I wonder what's behind the sudden plunge in circulation numbers over the past 5 years.....
Year Total Daily
2021 841,905
2020 868,918
2019 876,982
2018 879,658
2017 1,266,908
2016 1,410,869
2015 1,469,033
2014 1,384,197
2013 1,448,915
2012 1,476,885
2011 1,507,695
2010 1,529,497
2009 1,503,947
2008 1,310,855
2007 1,275,177
2006 1,290,268
2005 1,269,123
2004 1,537,023
2003 1,613,661
2002 1,619,956
2001 1,531,346
2000 1,341,649
1999 1,091,123
1998 1,076,926
1997 1,043,655
1996 1,031,031
1995 1,029,103
1994 1,053,438
1993 998,010
1992 937,418
1991 897,467
1990 833,037
1989 777,052
1988 743,334
1987 700,927
1986 684,298
1985 713,866
1984 709,383
1983 694,711
1982 657,340
1981 644,310
1980 615,612
1979 587,690
1978 534,373
1977 501,541
1976 476,983
1975 449,001
1974 422,460
1973 441,806
1972 391,966
1971 422,649
1970 394,204
1969 315,463
1968 263,338
1967 232,931
1966 240,533
1965 214,030
1964 181,796
1963 167,969
1962 149,400
1961 141,420
1960 129,373
Footnotes:
Data refer to the average daily copies circulated, which is computed by taking total copies circulated over number of publication issues in that calendar year. Data from 2015 include digital newspaper subscriptions for SPH's English, Chinese and Malay newspapers. Data from 2017 include digital newspaper subscription for SPH's Tamil newspapers.
Total Daily Newspaper Circulation -> English (Number):
Figures from 1990 refer to English Newspapers - The Straits Times/Sunday Times, Business Times, New Paper / New Paper Sunday (up to December 2021), Streats (2001 to 2004), TODAY (2001 to September 2017), Tabla (from 2008).
Total Daily Newspaper Circulation -> Chinese (Number):
Figures from 1990 refer to Chinese Newspapers - Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao (up to December 2021), Shin Min Daily News and My Paper (from June 2006 to December 2016).
Total Daily Newspaper Circulation -> Malay (Number):
Figures from 1990 refer to Malay Newspapers - Berita Harian/Berita Minggu.
Total Daily Newspaper Circulation -> Tamil (Number):
Figures from 1990 refer to Tamil Newspapers - Tamil Murasu/Tamil Murasu Sunday.
https://tablebuilder.singstat.gov.sg/table/TS/M890071
Josephine 阿姨 takes the SPH fiasco very seriously okay?
Wah almost a dozen questions filed are directed at Pinky, can he handle them all?
Might these be the infamous six goons at Keppel who could not be "named"? ;)
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2023/01/14/the-six-keppel-executives-listed-in-us-dojs-plea-agreement-for-involvement-in-bribery-scheme-in-brazil-to-secure-contracts/
Everything has already been swept under the carpet, let's just move on please.
"I can give you the answers, but what's the point of these questions?"
GO WP GO!!!!!!
Not a great start to the new year for the PAP.....