Inconsistencies in ex-SCDF's chief statements again highlighted

[UPDATED: 27 March, 9:49pm: Adding latest court testimony on Wednesday]

Inconsistencies in former Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Peter Lim's testimony were again in the spotlight on Wednesday.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng said Lim was "lying" and that the former top civil servant had intended to have sex with star witness Pang Chor Mui as made clear in the former top civil servant's two statements to CPIB last year.

Lim is accused of corruptly obtaining oral sex from Pang on 2 May 2010 in exchange for advancing the business interests of then employer Nimrod Engineering.

Tan said Lim picked and chose his arguments to align with evidence presented.

The prosecutor also contended that Lim gave instructions to change the 6 April 2011 closed tender for radiation portal monitors to an open one to let Nimrod participate. The ex-SCDF chief denied it.

Lim said he consented to oral sex with Pang after she begged "pitifully" and that he had met with Pang with the intention to catch up and chit chat. The oral sex, he said, was spontaneous.

The trial wrapped up on Wednesday but the court will hear closing submissions in May.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lim said he was not in full control of himself on the night he received oral sex from star witness Angie Pang Chor Mui.

He said that he had had 2-3 glasses of wine at Fullerton Hotel before he was picked up by Pang on the night of May 2, 2010.

As such, he said he was "50% in control of himself" and only remembered "70% of what happened on the night".

In contrast to his previous court appearance on Monday, Lim appeared more defensive and edgy as deputy public prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng questioned him on his state of mind that night.

Tan said that despite this, he was still able to give Pang specific directions to pick him up from Fullerton Hotel then back to his condo at Tanjong Rhu and then to the Stadium Walk carpark where the act took place.

Lim is currently on trial after having been charged with one count of obtaining oral sex in 2010 from Pang, then general manager of Nimrod Engineering, an equipment supplier to the SCDF.

While Lim maintained he was merely the "rubber stamp" and final approval in a contract tender for radiation portal machines (RPMs) that same year, he said he did not declare him personal relationship with Pang before letting her company participate in the tender process.

This was considered a conflict of interest under the tender procurement process, said DPP Tan.

Lim countered that he was not aware it was a conflict of interest because "nobody pointed it out to him" and that the evaluation process would already have gone though other directors before it came to him for final approval.

Later in the day, DPP Tan applied to impeach Lim after up to 10 discrepancies between his initial statement to CPIB in January this year and his actual court testimony.

Among the biggest contradictions was that in Lim's initial statement he said he had the intention to have sex with Angie before calling her on the night and that he had used the wedding at Fullerton Hotel as an opportunity to do so.

However, he testified in court that the oral sex was "spontaneous" and that he further said Pang was the who "created the climate" for it after several earlier suggestive text messages. He finally also admitted that he gave her the opportunity to have sex as he "pitied" her for being a lonely woman and that she had been "kind" and "caring".

On Monday, Lim had said his relationship with Pang grew closer around June 2009 and in Feb 2010, she began sending "suggestive text messages" and even told him he wanted to be his girlfriend but that he did not respond to this.

Describing Pang as "kind", "caring" and that "she likes to joke and tease a lot", Lim confirmed the one count of oral sex happened in her car at the Stadium Walk carpark at close to midnight in May.

The suggestive messages were the reason why he did not dismiss her when she asked him to unzip his pants. He added that he was "tipsy" on the night and knew "that she's a lonely woman who has not had something like this for a while", he told the court.

He said the session only lasted a short while as he not "fully aroused" during the act.

The case continues.


Related stories:

Woman in SCDF sex-for-contracts trial: I gave him oral sex

Sex-for-contracts trial: Star witness grilled over ‘intimate’ relationship with own boss

I didn't stop and analyse... I liked him a lot: woman in ex-SCDF chief Peter Lim's trial