Twelve individuals were charged in Court on Thursday (14 April) for corruption offences in connection to the conspiracy to misappropriate oil from Shell Eastern Petroleum’s (Shell) Pulau Bukom site.
These 12 individuals were employees of surveying companies engaged by Shell to inspect the volume of oil loaded onto the vessels which Shell supplied oil to.
Between 2014 and 2017, the 12 individuals allegedly accepted bribes totalling at least USD 213,000.
These bribes were either given to them directly, or through intermediaries, by three former employees of Shell; namely Juandi Bin Pungot (Juandi), Muzaffar Ali Khan Bin Muhamad Akram (Muzaffar) and Richard Goh Chee Keong (Richard).
Juandi was sentenced to 29 years’ imprisonment for multiple offences, including offences under Section 6(b) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, on 31 March 2022. Muzaffar’s and Richard’s cases are currently pending in Court.
These bribes were allegedly given to the 12 individuals as inducement or rewards for refraining from accurately reporting the amount of oil loaded onto vessels which their respective companies were engaged by Shell to inspect. The 12 individuals are:
(1) A Duraisamy (60-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek Testing Services Pte Ltd (Intertek) and Inspectorate Singapore Pte Ltd (Inspectorate) at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling USD 31,000. For his actions, he will face three charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, of which two charges are amalgamated charges under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
(2) Jasbir Singh S/O Paramjit Singh (37-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling USD 15,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
(3) Anand S/O Omprekas (39-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek and CCIC Singapore Pte Ltd (CCIC) at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling SGD 20,000. For his actions, he will face two charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which are amalgamated charges under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
(4) Noruliman Bin Bakti (40-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek and CCIC at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling USD 25,000. For his actions, he will face two charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which are amalgamated charges under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
(5) Muhammad Ali Bin Muhammad Nor (55-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling USD 90,000. He also allegedly used about SGD 39,000 of his criminal proceeds to purchase a BMW 523i motor vehicle. For his actions, he will face one charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code. He will also face an additional charge for an offence punishable under Section 47(1)(c) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.
(6) Erwin Suhardi Bin Jamaluddin (38-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling USD 10,000. For his actions, he will face two charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
(7) Lee Been Lian (李明連, 57-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek at the material time allegedly accepted a bribe of USD 5,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
(8) Naushad Carrim Tengur (45-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident), Surveyor with Inspectorate at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling USD 6,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
(9) Muhammad Khairul Asri Bin Mohamad Hanafiah (38-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Inspectorate at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling USD 6,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
(10) Kumunan S/O Rethana Kumaran (40-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with CCIC at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling USD 12,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
(11) Paramanandham Srinivasan (39-year-old male Indian National), Surveyor with SGS Testing & Control Services Singapore Pte Ltd (SGS) at the material time allegedly accepted a bribe of USD 3,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
(12) Rizal Bin Zulkeflee (38-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with SGS at the material time allegedly accepted a bribe of USD 10,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption,” stated a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau statement.
“Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to SGD 100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years or to both.”
Earlier coverage of developments by Manifold Times regarding the Shell MGO bunker heist can be found below:
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Former Shore Loading Officer receives 29-year jail sentence over total 85 charges
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Ex-Process Technician received minimum SGD 735,000 in benefits, faces 43 charges
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Ex-Shell employee admits leading role in illicit operation
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Sentek ex-Director faces 40 fresh charges
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Two former Shell employees jailed over theft
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: High Court affirms ‘Prime South’ forfeiture to Singapore State
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Three ex-Shell employees charged with bribing surveyors
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Second ex-Shell employee pleads guilty to nine charges
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: First ex-Shell employee to plead guilty over involvement
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Director of Singapore bunkering firm released from police custody
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Oil tanker ‘Prime South’ forfeited by State Courts of Singapore
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Director of Singapore bunkering firm face charge at State Courts
Related: Shell Singapore oil heist: Third offender pleads guilty for gas oil theft
Related: Captain of “Prime South” jailed in Shell Pulau Bukom gas oil theft
Related: Shell Singapore oil heist: Ex-Chief Officer of Prime South jailed
Related: Singapore: Shell MGO bunker heist amount balloons to USD$142 million
Related: Shell MGO bunker heist update: Fresh charges issued at Singapore court
Related: Shell Singapore oil heist: More charges issued at court
Related: Shell Singapore oil heist: Breakdown of stolen oil cargoes
Related: Intertek Singapore employee among Shell oil heist suspects
Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 18 April, 2022
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