Top 10 Corruption Cases in Singapore

Singapore's reputation for clean government rests on an unusually consistent record: the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) has been prosecuting corruption since 1952, and its conviction rate has stayed above 95% for decades. That record includes cases in the civil service, statutory boards, multinational corporations and even the Cabinet. The ten cases below — a mix of public-sector and private-sector corruption — are drawn from CPIB press releases, court records and contemporaneous news reporting, ordered roughly from earliest to most recent.

1. Operation Chap Ji Kee (1968)

One of CPIB's largest early operations, run jointly with the Criminal Investigation Department against the Siu Poh Shanghai Tai Tong illegal lottery syndicate. The investigation implicated 67 police officers who had allegedly taken payments to protect the syndicate's "chap ji kee" gambling operations — a scale that helped justify the stronger investigative powers CPIB was given under the Prevention of Corruption Act. (CPIB: Our Heritage)

2. Wee Toon Boon (1975)

Singapore's first Cabinet minister convicted of corruption. As Minister of State for Environment, Wee used his position to help property developer Lauw Tjin Ho with dealings involving civil servants, in exchange for a S$532,000 bungalow, free air travel and share-speculation loans — corruption involving roughly S$839,000 in total. He was found guilty in September 1975 and sentenced to four years and six months' jail, reduced to 18 months on appeal. (Malay Mail)

3. Teh Cheang Wan (1986)

Not a conviction, but one of the most consequential corruption cases in Singapore's history. As Minister for National Development, Teh was investigated by CPIB over allegations that he accepted S$1 million from two private companies in 1981 and 1982 in exchange for help retaining and buying state land. He died by suicide in December 1986, before he could be charged in court, leaving a letter to then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew accepting responsibility. Because he was never tried, the allegations were never tested in court — the account above reflects what the CPIB investigation and the subsequent Commission of Inquiry's own report described. (Wikipedia: Teh Cheang Wan)

4. Choy Hon Tim / PUB (1995)

The largest bribe amount ever recorded in a Singapore corruption case. As Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) of the Public Utilities Board, Choy took roughly S$13.85 million in bribes over nearly two decades from a contractor he had helped win PUB cabling and consultancy work, funnelling the money through a Hong Kong bank account. He was sentenced to 14 years' jail. (CPIB case study: The Highest Graft Amount)

5. Teo Chu Ha and Judy Teo / Seagate (2021)

A private-sector case: Teo Chu Ha, a senior director at Seagate Technology International, leaked confidential tender information to his sister Judy Teo, who used it to help two Chinese logistics firms win Seagate freight contracts. Between 2007 and 2010 Judy received about S$2.32 million in bribes from the two companies. Teo Chu Ha was sentenced to four years and two months' jail, and Judy Teo to three years and five months, with a S$2.3 million penalty order. (Malay Mail)

6. Henry Foo Yung Thye / LTA (2021)

Described by the sentencing judge as the largest public-sector corruption case to reach the courts in recent times. As Deputy Group Director at the Land Transport Authority, overseeing MRT station and tunnel construction, Foo corruptly obtained about S$1.24 million in loans from LTA contractors between 2014 and 2019 to advance their business interests, on top of separately cheating LTA colleagues out of S$726,500 to fund a gambling habit. He was sentenced to 66 months' jail. (CPIB press release)

7. Keppel Offshore & Marine (2017–2022)

Singapore's highest-value corporate bribery case. Between 2001 and 2014, Keppel Offshore & Marine made corrupt payments — funnelled through an intermediary under the cover of consulting agreements — to officials of Brazilian state oil company Petrobras to win contracts. In a global settlement led by the US Department of Justice, Keppel O&M agreed to pay US$422 million in fines to the US, Brazil and Singapore; CPIB separately issued the company a conditional warning in December 2017 requiring US$52.8 million to be paid to Singapore. Six former senior KOM staff were issued stern warnings by CPIB in January 2023. (CPIB press release, US DOJ)

8. Liaw Jinle and Tan Wei Jie Sandy / NUS (2022)

A university procurement case. Liaw, a laboratory executive at NUS's Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, steered 31 procurement contracts worth about S$136,772 to companies linked to sole proprietor Tan Wei Jie Sandy in 2019, partly to help repay a personal loan from Tan. Both were convicted of cheating and corruption offences in March 2022; Liaw was sentenced to 20 months and two weeks' jail. (CPIB press release)

9. Micron Semiconductor Asia employees (2021)

Two more private-sector convictions from the same company. Karu Jeyamani, a senior technical specialist at Micron Semiconductor Asia, took S$16,000 in bribes over nine occasions between 2016 and 2020 from a subcontractor's director in exchange for steering assignments its way. Separately, former Micron tool-installation manager Bernard Quek Joo Kwang was fined S$30,000 for soliciting a bribe of more than S$100,000 from another Micron subcontractor. (CPIB press release)

10. S. Iswaran (2024)

The most prominent recent case, and the first jailing of a former Cabinet minister in decades. As Transport Minister, Iswaran received gifts worth more than S$300,000 from businessmen including Ong Beng Seng (Formula 1 tickets, private-jet travel, hotel stays) and David Lum Kok Seng (a S$7,000 bicycle) while in office. Most of his charges were brought under Section 165 of the Penal Code — obtaining valuable items as a public servant, which does not require proving the items were given as an inducement — rather than the Prevention of Corruption Act itself; prosecutors said proving the higher bar of the PCA was too uncertain given only two parties were involved in each transaction. He pleaded guilty in September 2024 to four counts under Section 165 and one of obstructing justice, and was sentenced to 12 months' jail in October 2024. (CNA/CNBC coverage, Wikipedia: Prosecution of S. Iswaran)

Other corruption cases on record

The ten above aren't the only ones — CPIB publishes a steady stream of prosecutions every year, spanning statutory boards, private companies and sports bodies. A few more worth knowing, listed only as far as their reported legal status (some below were only charged, not convicted, at time of writing — that's noted explicitly rather than implied):

• Ex-Keppel shipyard officer — jailed after taking over S$700,000 in bribes from marine contractors (2019). Convicted. (Malay Mail)
• Two men who bribed Henry Foo (the LTA director in case #6 above) — admitted paying him S$50,000 over an MRT PR-related contract (2021). Convicted. (Malay Mail)
• Family transport-firm case — a man and his daughter jailed for paying about S$400,000 in bribes to keep contracts for their transport company (2023). Convicted. (Malay Mail)
• Former national paddler's mother — sentenced to six weeks' jail over a sports-related bribery case (2018). Convicted. (Malay Mail)
• Two former NParks directors — reported to have been charged over bribes allegedly taken in the form of hotel stays (2021). Charged, not yet a reported conviction — treat as allegations. (Malay Mail)
• Enforcement officer / vape-stash case — a Singapore enforcement officer was reported charged over an alleged bribe attempt linked to a S$6 million Malaysian vape seizure (2025). Charged, very recent — no reported trial outcome yet. (Malay Mail)

This list isn't exhaustive — CPIB's own case studies page and annual statistics are the authoritative, continuously updated source.