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Avoid premature speculation on Ang Mo Kio Town Council case: Workers’ Party

Photo: Yahoo Singapore, Associated Press
Photo: Yahoo Singapore, Associated Press

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) should be allowed to complete its investigation into the Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) case before any judgement is passed, the Workers’ Party (WP) said Friday (6 January).

The WP was responding to media queries about Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam’s comments earlier Friday on the CPIB investigation into AMKTC general manager and secretary Victor Wong, and WP’s handling of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) issue.

A WP spokesman said in a statement, “Premature speculation, especially when done by influential people, may pervert the course of justice by shaping investigations.”

He noted that when auditors KPMG issued its report on the AHTC last July, AHTC ordered a 100 per cent check on the $60 million direct journal entry and dummy code issues that were flagged by KPMG.

“Some people jumped prematurely on the possibility of fraud and fictitious payments without waiting for the results of the audit. When no fraud and fictitious payments were found, the speculators kept quiet.”

AMKTC’s Wong was asked to go on leave by his company CPG Facilities Management – the managing agent of the town council – after the town council received a complaint about him last September. He was suspended from his post in November.

According to media reports, Shanmugam pledged that “nothing will be swept under the carpet”. He contrasted the government’s handling of the AMKTC issue to how the WP has faced the long-running AHTC saga.

Shanmugam said, “In contrast to the only place where this Government is not in charge, in that one place, first you have people appointing their cronies to run the Town Council. You have town councillors being misled on the terms that these cronies were appointed.

“Transparency? Investigations? Their own auditor’s report says they refuse to give information on the conflicts of interest.”