A man has been charged in court for allegedly committing corruption offences while he was commercial executive of Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard.
Balakrishnan Govindasamy, 61, is alleged to have corruptly obtained and attempted to obtain gratifications from contractors totalling at least SGD 202,877 ($150,000) between 2015 and 2021.
Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said these gratifications allegedly came from nine unnamed contractors representing different companies.
“These gratifications were meant as an inducement or reward for advancing the business interests of these contractors with Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard Private Ltd,” CPIB said in a statement.
Balakrishnan faces 14 charges punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, of which five charges are amalgamated under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code and punishable under Section 124(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
If found guilty of a corruption offence under Section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, he can be fined up to SGD 100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
If he is convicted of an offence under Section 124 of the Criminal Procedure Code, he can face two times the amount of punishment liable for that offence.
Singapore said it adopts a “strict zero-tolerance approach” towards corruption.
Last month, the country’s transport minister was arrested as part of a corruption probe by the CPIB involving local property tycoon Ong Beng Seng.
Seatrium, which was rebranded from Sembcorp Marine in April 2023, is itself still under investigation by the CPIB over alleged corruption offences in Brazil.
The CPIB said in June that it had “commenced investigations” against Seatrium and individuals from the Singapore-listed company.
The government agency said the investigation was launched on the back of “information received”, but it gave few other details.
