S’porean woman, 54, gave S$52,900 in bribes to ex-SJI facilities manager, 58, given 3 months & 2 weeks’ jail
She was a sales manager of an interior furnishing firm.
On September 23, a 54-year-old Singaporean woman named Renee Song Mui Kuan was sentenced to three months and two weeks of imprisonment for offering over S$52,900 in bribes to a former St Joseph's Institution (SJI) facilities manager, 58-year-old Ng Cher Him. Song pleaded guilty to two of four charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The remaining charges were considered during her sentencing.
According to court documents, in January 2018, Ng first approached Song with the idea of receiving money in exchange for assisting SJI in awarding more jobs and projects to her interior furnishing firm. Song agreed, fearing that rejecting his proposition would result in her firm losing out on jobs and projects at SJI. Subsequently, Ng would inform Song about jobs and projects at SJI and invite her to submit quotations.
On some occasions, Ng would instruct Song to mark up a quotation for a specific job or project, and Song would pay that markup to Ng in cash.
After SJI paid for a job or project, Song would withdraw the cash equivalent of the markup and hand it to Ng in his office at SJI. On other occasions, she would keep the markup for herself if Ng did not request it. Over ten instances between January 7, 2019, and July 21, 2020, Song gave Ng gratuities totaling S$18,420, while between August 18, 2020, and September 7, 2022, she gave Ng gratuities amounting to S$34,480. The firms involved submitted invoices totaling S$228,717 and S$502,840.04 for the jobs and projects.
In September 2022, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) received information about Ng's alleged corrupt activities and began an investigation. Song was also subsequently investigated. On July 28, 2023, Song made restitution of S$39,300 to SJI.
The prosecution sought a sentence of three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half months' imprisonment for Song, arguing that she unfairly secured the jobs and projects at SJI, causing other more suitable vendors to lose opportunities. They also stated that Song's actions perverted Ng's duty to be independent and fair as a facilities manager at SJI, undermining his role and eroding public confidence in government institutions.
Ng was sentenced to one year, three months, and four weeks' jail for corruption offenses in October 2025, having received more than S$67,000 in bribes from various vendors, including Song.
Written by urgent.news from Mothership's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
