Two Charged For Alleged Cheating and Forgery Offences

On 28 January 2021, two individuals were charged in court for allegedly committing cheating and forgery offences:

a) Tan Kok Kiong (“Tan”) (陈国强, 53-year-old male Singapore Citizen), Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (National University of Singapore) (“NUS”), at the time of the offences; and

b) Teh Kok Hiong Thomas (“Teh”) (郑国雄, 41-year-old male Singapore Citizen), Research Fellow, Department of Biomedical Engineering (NUS), at the time of the offences.

2. Sometime between 2012 and 2019, Tan is alleged to have submitted fraudulent claims to the NUS for a total amount of approximately $100,100. He is alleged to have generated fictitious invoices for the purported purchase of products and services and submitted claims that were either inflated or for expenses that were unrelated to his research grant. By doing so, he is alleged to have cheated NUS’ approving officers into disbursing those sums of money to him. For his actions, Tan will face 32 counts of forgery for the purpose of cheating, punishable under Section 468 of the Penal Code, and 5 counts of cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of money, punishable under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

3. In an unrelated case, sometime between 2010 and 2018, Teh is alleged to have submitted fraudulent claims to the NUS for a total amount of approximately $41,100. These included purchases falsely claimed for work-related use, as well as travel expenses he was not entitled to claim. In some instances, he allegedly altered receipts or invoices to support his fraudulent claims. By doing so, he is alleged to have cheated NUS’ approving officers into disbursing those sums of money to him. For his actions, Teh will face 5 counts of forgery for the purpose of cheating, punishable under Section 468 of the Penal Code, and 22 counts of cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of money, punishable under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

4. Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption and other criminal activities such as cheating and forgery. Any person convicted of cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property under Section 420 of the Penal Code or forgery for the purpose of cheating under Section 468 of the Penal Code can be sentenced to imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and also be liable to a fine.

5. The CPIB looks into all corruption complaints and reports, including anonymous ones, and can be reached via the following channels:

a) Call the Duty Officer at 1800-376-0000;
b) Lodge an e-Complaint;
c) Email us at report@cpib.gov.sg; or
d) Write to us at the CPIB Headquarters @ 2 Lengkok Bahru, S159047.

6. Where possible, the report should include the following information:

a) Where, when and how the alleged corrupt act happened?
b) Who was involved and what were their roles?
c) What was the bribe given and the favour shown?

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau