CPIB officers to take the stand at trial of ex—CNB chief

SINGAPORE: Three officers of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) will take the stand when the sex—for—contracts trial of ex—Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay resumes on Wednesday.

The new witnesses had recorded a number of statements from the prosecution’s key witness, Ms Cecilia Sue Siew Nang.

They were not on the prosecution’s initial list of witnesses, but were summoned after the first part of the trial ended on October 2.

Ng is accused of obtaining oral sex from Ms Sue on four occasions in 2011, in exchange for helping to further the business interests of Hitachi Data Systems and Oracle Singapore. Those were the two IT firms Ms Sue had worked for.

The trial is set to go on for another 12 days.

During the first—leg of the trial, from September 25 to October 2, one question was at the forefront —— Was Ms Cecilia Sue having an affair with Ng Boon Gay?

Ms Sue, the key prosecution witness, took the stand unexpectedly on day two of the trial and gave a graphic account of how Ng had forced her to perform oral sex on him on four occasions.

However, what the 36—year—old said in court was not always consistent with what she told officers of the CPIB.

Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, who represented Ng, produced telephone records from March 2010 to December 2011 to bolster his case that the two were in a sexual relationship.

The grilling proved too much for Ms Sue, who broke down several times.

On the fourth day of the trial, she admitted that she had lied to the CPIB.

The mother—of—one said it was the first time she was being investigated, and was afraid and confused. Describing herself as a "normal sales representative", she said she did not want to offend Ng, who she said was "well—connected".

The defence then applied to impeach Ms Sue’s credibility as a witness, therefore the district judge will decide at the close of the trial which parts of her evidence are to be admitted.

Ms Sue’s flip—flopping triggered another unexpected move by the prosecution — it questioned her as a hostile witness, saying she had a "consensual relationship with the accused from 2009 to September or October 2010."

However, Ms Sue disagreed with the prosecution’s stand.

Speaking of the unusual move, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Ken Hwee said it "was not taken lightly." He stressed that Ms Sue’s statements to CPIB were given voluntarily and not under duress.

To prove this, DPP Tan called three CPIB officers who had recorded a number of statements from Ms Sue to testify.

So far, both prosecution and defence agree that Ng did not influence the committee that awards IT contracts, nor instruct his subordinates to favour Hitachi or Oracle Singapore.

The prosecution’s case is that Ng pressured Ms Sue into giving him oral sex, with the full knowledge that she was pursuing business opportunities at that time.

The defence’s position is that they were having an affair. The defence also challenges the charges — asking what exactly Ng did to further the business interests of the two firms, given that the prosecution agreed that Ng has no influence on the committee nor instructed his subordinates to show favour.

—CNA/ac