SINGAPORE: The former group CEO of Temasek-backed fish farm Apollo Aquaculture was accused on Thursday (Feb 20) of receiving a bribe and using it to make a partial down payment for a condominium unit.
Ng Woei Kiat, a 51-year-old Singaporean, was also a member of Apollo Aquaculture Group’s board of directors at the time of the alleged offences in 2018.
Ng, who appeared in the State Courts, was handed one charge of obtaining a bribe of S$450,000 (US$336,000) from Alan Koh Joon Seong, a director at two engineering companies, Alric Projects and Alric MEP Engineering. This charge falls under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The gratification allegedly given on Aug 24, 2018, was meant as an inducement so that Ng would not show “disfavour” to the Alric companies in their dealings with Apollo Aquaculture Group, a joint press release by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and Singapore Police Force stated.
Ng allegedly used the bribe money to make a partial down payment of S$471,000 for a condo unit, the release added.
The down payment was made for a condo unit at 159 Wak Hassan Drive on Aug 27, 2018, according to Ng’s charge sheet. This forms the second charge, which is under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA).
For his alleged role, Koh, a 51-year-old Singaporean, faces one corresponding charge under the Prevention of Corruption Act for giving the bribe.
Separately, Ng faces seven charges under the Companies Act for failing to declare his interest in related-party transactions to Apollo Aquaculture’s board of directors. These charges relate to two companies Krisjade Trading and Ng Yock Hock Capital.
Ng was said to be the de-facto majority owner of Krisjade Trading, and the shareholder and director of Ng Yong Hock Capital.
He allegedly failed to declare his interest in the transactions these two companies had with Apollo Aquaculture Group, which involved the exchange of seafood and other items between 2018 and 2020.
For instance, Ng is said to have failed to declare his interest when Ng Yong Hock Capital provided 5,360kg worth of sea cucumbers to Apollo Aquaculture Group for S$310,000.
On another occasion, Ng purportedly failed to do the same when Krisjade Trading provided 215kg of hairy crabs to Apollo Aquaculture Group for S$17,361.08.
In total, Ng has nine charges.
Ng was unrepresented, but Koh was represented by lawyer Shashi Nathan, who told the court that he was familiar with the matter as he had been with his client throughout his investigation under CPIB.
He sought an adjournment to make representations to the prosecution and said that he might apply for his client to go overseas at a later stage.
The prosecution said that it had a plea deal for both, but both men indicated that they will be claiming trial, with Ng adding that he will be hiring a lawyer.
Both cases have been adjourned to Mar 13.
Apollo Aquaculture Group has five subsidiary companies, one of which owned an eight-storey fish farm in Lim Chu Kang that was touted to be a high-tech farming solution addressing Singapore’s lack of space when it began operations in 2021.
However, the group ran into financial problems and was placed under judicial management in May 2022, where an independent judicial manager was appointed to manage its affairs.
If convicted of corruption, each man may be fined up to S$100,000, or jailed up to five years, or both.
If convicted under the CDSA, Ng can be fined up to S$500,000, or jailed up to 10 years, or both. If convicted of the charge under the Companies Act, he can be jailed up to 12 months or fined up to S$5,000.