Construction site supervisor jailed for graft over tip-off for mosquito breeding checks
SINGAPORE — A construction site manager who gave $1,600 in bribes to two pest control workers in return for tip-offs about mosquito breeding inspections was jailed for six weeks at the State Courts on Thursday (2 May).
Muthujaruppan Periyasamy admitted giving the kickbacks to the two former employees of pest control company Killem Pest, which had been engaged by the National Environment Agency.
The 52-year-old Indian national had offered to pay Tung Chee Cheong, 48, and Chandran Jeganathan, 30, $400 a month for advanced notification of inspections at a construction site he was overseeing.
Mosquito breeding grounds found twice at construction site
As part of their work, Tung and Chandran would follow NEA officers during inspections at construction sites, where they looked for mosquito breeding grounds.
Between January and April last year, NEA and Killem officers found mosquito breeding grounds on two occasions at a construction site at Tampines Industrial Street 61, which Periyasamy oversaw.
Periyasamy, who worked for Fenzhii Engineering Services and Ramo Industries, knew that a stop-work order would be imposed if the officers found mosquito breeding grounds again.
He offered Tung and Jeganathan kickbacks for the tip-offs.
Jeganathan told Periyasamy about upcoming inspections on four occasions between May and August last year.
Periyasamy passed $400 to either Jeganathan or Tung for each of the four months.
The two pest control workers split the monies among themselves, with Tung pocketing $1,000 and Jeganathan getting $600.
In a statement on Thursday, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said it adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards graft.
“Corrupt acts which compromise mosquito breeding controls can pose a serious danger to public health safety,” the bureau said.
Members of the public can lodge graft complaints and reports in writing, via 1800-376-0000, at cpib.gov.sg/e-complaint or via email at report@cpib.gov.sg.
The maximum punishment for corruption is a fine of up to $100,000 or up to five years’ jail.
In March, Tung was jailed 11 weeks while Jeganathan was jailed six weeks.
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