Two employees of Dongah Geological Engineering, Singapore branch, aged between 31 and 38 were charged in court for corruption on Monday.
As per the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), the 38-year-old alleged accused Lee Dongchul, who is a civil engineer, was charged with one count of taking bribes worth S$3,000 from two representatives of Fasten Hardware and Engineering.
CPIB added that the bribe was "an inducement for furthering the business interests" between both the companies and it was offered by Sim Cher Kwang and Andy Sia Chee Shang of Fasten.
The other alleged accused, 31-year-old Lee Myungjae, planning manager, was charged in court with two counts of accepting a total S$4,000 in bribes. The CPIB said the money was offered by Fasten's Sim and Lee Cheng Wee of Taka Hardware and Engineering (S) as an inducement for furthering the business interests of Fasten and Taka with Dongah.
While Lee Dongchul will be back in court on March 27, the other accused Lee Myungjae intends to plead guilty on February 27. It should be noted that both the alleged accused are from South Korea.
Those three Fasten and Taka officials, who tried to bribe both the accused, were charged on November 7, 2018, with corruption and related offences.
As per the law, "a person convicted of an offence under the PCA shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both, for each count of corruption."
In a statement, CPIB added that the country adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach when it comes to corruption. In addition, they said, "Companies and their employees operating in Singapore are expected to conduct business dealings in a fair and transparent manner, instead of turning to corrupt practices."
