Singapore: ST Marine President was given 14 days’ short detention order.

6 January 2017
Chang Cheow Teck, 56, former president of ship builder Singapore Technologies (ST) Marine, was spared jail term on Thursday by District Judge Kessler Soh Boon Leng. He was imposed a short detention order of 14 days. The short detention order scheme, which was introduced in 2011, allows the court to detain an offender for up to 14 days. It is less stigmatising than a longer prison stay. This sentence is given when there are mitigating circumstances. He is the sixth of seven former ST Marine senior executives who pleaded guilty.
Heaviest sentence of 10 months’ jail and $100,000 fine was given to former chief executive officer and president See Leong Teck. Patrick Lee Swee Ching was fined $210,000 while two others were given jail term and fine.
During Chang’s tenure, $6.5 million were claimed as entertainment expenses and paid in bribes. Bribes were paid to entice foreign companied to send their vessels to Singapore for repair by ST Marine.
In sentencing Chang, District Judge Soh said: “This was the darkest hour of your career but you have to learn, move on and serve diligently in whatever capacity in the future. It is also serves as a lesson for other directors to be diligent in what they do.”