Corruption has no place in S’pore; facts to be explained in Parliament: Indranee Rajah on Keppel case

02/02/2023

Singapore and the PAP Government do not condone or tolerate corruption and will continue to take this position, Minister Indranee Rajah said in a Facebook post published on Feb 2.

She was addressing the Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (KOM) case, where stern warning were issued by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to six former senior management KOM staff in lieu of prosecution on Jan 11.

The decision was made in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

The bureau added that under the global resolution led by the Department of Justice of the United States of America and involving Brazil and Singapore, a conditional warning in lieu of prosecution was issued to KOM.

KOM has paid a total fine of US$422 million and fulfilled all obligations under the conditional warning.

Saying that she’s aware some people made assertions about the stern warnings, Minister Indranee said that such assertions were made due to an inadequate understanding of the facts and of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) between KOM and the United States Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office.

“I will explain the facts at the next Parliamentary sitting on Feb 6, 2023, and the public can decide for themselves,” she added.

The rule of law

Minister Indranee also highlighted that if there were sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges, they would have been brought.

“At the same time, criminal proceedings cannot be initiated based on sentiment. The rule of law applies both ways.”

Our Party MPs, namely Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok SMC), Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong GRC), Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang SMC) and Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (Chua Chu Kang GRC), have filed questions on this matter and we should listen to the facts first.

One thing is for sure: a clean and incorruptible system is part of the Singapore psyche and we must do all we can to keep Singapore corruption-free.

Cover photo credit: Indranee Rajah/Facebook and Keppel