Huawei Account Director and Two Other Individuals Charged for Alleged Offences
On 22 January 2025, the following three individuals were charged in Court for alleged offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Penal Code:
a) Peng Ming (“Peng”) (彭明, 39-year-old male Singaporean), Account Director at Huawei International Pte Ltd (“Huawei”) at the material time;
b) Ng Kah Siang (“Ng”) (黄家祥, 37-year-old male Singaporean), Engineer at Integrated Health Systems Information Pte Ltd (“IHiS”) at the material time; and
c) Chiang Chee Seng (“Chiang”) (蔣志成, 50-year-old male Singaporean), Senior Sales Director at Nera Telecommunications Ltd (“Nera”) at the material time.
2. In November 2021, Ng allegedly corruptly attempted to obtain gratification of a sum of S$20,000 from Peng as an inducement to advance the business interests of Huawei with IHiS. Ng also allegedly corruptly attempted to obtain gratification of 1% of a vendor’s sales revenue and no less than S$20,000 from a second vendor, as inducements to advance the vendors’ business with IHiS.
3. In February 2022, Peng allegedly deceived Huawei into believing that Ng and Ng’s wife were directors of IHiS, so as to intentionally induce Huawei to approve a sponsored overseas trip to Paris for them. From 11 to 20 March 2022, Peng and Chiang allegedly conspired to corruptly give Ng and his wife gratification in the form of the said overseas trip, valued at around S$18,265, as an inducement to advance the business interests of Huawei and Nera with IHiS. Ng also allegedly corruptly attempted to obtain gratification of 1% of Nera’s sales revenue from Chiang on a separate occasion to further advance the business interests of Nera with IHiS.
4. On several occasions between 2020 to 2022, Peng had also allegedly corruptly given gratification of about S$300 for each occasion in the form of entertainment to an engineer employed with IHiS, as an inducement to advance the business interests of Huawei with IHiS.
5. For their actions, Peng and Chiang each face one charge for offences under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Peng faces an additional three charges under section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, amalgamated under Section 124(4) and punishable under Section 124(8)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Code, and one additional charge for offences under Section 417 of the Penal Code. Ng faces five charges under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
6. Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. Any person convicted of a corruption offence under Section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act can be fined up to S$100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years or both. Any person convicted of an offence under Section 124(8)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 can face two times the amount of punishment liable for that offence. Any person who is convicted of a cheating offence under Section 417 of the Penal Code shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
7. Organisations are strongly advised to put in place robust procedures, in areas such as procurement and internal audit, to prevent falling victim to corrupt acts by their employees. Guidance for organisations on measures to prevent corruption can be found in PACT: A Practical Anti-Corruption Guide for Businesses in Singapore, which is available on CPIB’s website. Organisations are also strongly encouraged to obtain certification under the Singapore Standard (SS) ISO 37001 – Anti-Bribery Management Systems, which is designed to help organisations implement or enhance an anti-bribery management system to reduce corporate risk and costs related to bribery.
Reference Links:
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PACT: https://www.cpib.gov.sg/research-room/publications/anti-corruption-guide-for-businesses/
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SS ISO 37001: https://www.cpib.gov.sg/research-room/publications/ss-iso-37001/
Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau