21 November 2012.
Ng Boon Gay
More details about the three-year affair between former Central Narcotics Bureau chief, Ng Boon Gay, and Ms Cecilia Sue emerged in court on Tuesday morning in his corruption trial. Ng is accused of forcing 36-year-old Ms Sue, a former IT sales executive, to give him oral sex. In exchange, he allegedly helped further her employers’ business interests. Ng Boon Gay, 46, the former director of the Central Narcotics Bureau, testified in his first appearance on the witness stand at his sex-for-contracts trial. He admitted to having an extra-marital affair with information technology executive Cecilia Sue. Ng testified that over a three year period they had one full intercourse but had oral sex 20 or 30 times. Ng said that Sue was a willing party and she was never forced to do anything. State prosecutors allege that Ng violated anti-corruption laws by demanding oral sex on four occasions from Sue, in exchange for helping her win supply contracts from his agency. He denied revealing confidential information about the agency’s budget to Sue. He added that Sue occasionally picked him up from work in her Mercedes Benz during their affair. He said that sometimes Sue initiated these acts; sometimes it would be him, depending on the mood. Ng took to the stand after District Judge Siva Shanmugam declared on Monday that Ng had a case to answer. During the trial Ng explained the procurement process at CNP. He would follow the evaluation team’s recommendation while the evaluation team would base its recommendation on the suggestions of the IT team. He further elucidated that there was no contractual relationship between CNB and Sue’s Hitachi Data Systems. Hitachi was merely a sub-contractor to the main contractor who had the legal relationship with CNB. He also said that he had no idea that Ms Sue was a sub-vendor for one of the IT contracts. He also said that he had sent a complaint letter through his lawyers to the Attorney-General’s Chambers pointing out the manner in which CPIB’s Deputy Director Teng Khee Fatt was questioning him. Ng said Teng had exerted duress on him to persuade him to plead guilty, levelling threats to drag members of his family “through the mud”. Ng said Mr Teng used plea bargaining on him on 9 March 2012. Under a plea bargaining agreement between the prosecutor and defendant, the defendant agrees to plead guilty without a trial. In return, the prosecutor agrees to dismiss certain charges or make favourable sentence recommendations to the court. The AGC replied on April 25, saying Ng’s claim was unfounded. The case continues. High-level corruption cases are rare in Singapore because of an efficient and well-paid bureaucracy. The case has drawn plenty of interest in the city-state because of lurid sexual details.
