An insurance agent, a freelance translator and a middleman faced corruption-related charges at a Singapore court on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in the payment of bribes to a staff member at the Indonesian Embassy.
The 47-year-old insurance agent James Yeo Siew Liang was accused of offering bribes to an Indonesian embassy official named Agus Ramdhany Machjumi. Yeo sought to get two companies he represented, AIG Asia Pacific Insurance and Liberty Insurance, accredited as performance bond providers, the Shin Min Daily News reported.
Between March and June this year Yeo allegedly paid S$92,600 (US$67,416) in bribes through the 63-year-old Singaporean defendant named Abdul Aziz Mohamed Hanib, a freelance translator. Hanib allegedly paid S$71,200 (US$51,835) to the Indonesian staffer and kept S$21,400 (US$15,580) for himself.
The third defendant named Benjamin Chow Tuck Keong, 55, a Singaporean corporate development director, was charged with one count of abetting Hanib as he was responsible for introducing Hanib to Yeo early in October 2017.
There was no evidence to suggest that the two insurers were complicit in the corruption.
Since April this year, all employers in Singapore who hire a new Indonesian domestic worker have to purchase a performance bond guarantee from insurers approved by the Indonesian embassy, which requires a one-off S$70 payment.
The three Singaporeans were granted bail and will face trial in court on December 17.