SINGAPORE – Ministers Ong Ye Kung and Chee Hong Tat do not know convicted money launderer Su Haijin personally, and do not have any contact with him.
In a joint press statement by both ministers’ press secretaries on May 6, it was stated that pictures showing both ministers at dinners where Fujian gang member Su was also present have been circulated online.
The photos were posted on Instagram by former Reform Party chairman Charles Yeo on May 4 and 5.
In recent days, a photo of labour chief and former education minister Ng Chee Meng seated at a dinner with Su has also been circulating online. The Straits Times has contacted Mr Ng for comment.
The statement added: “As Ministers, they meet a diverse range of people at various events and gatherings. They attended the dinners at the invitation of a friend, and Su happened to be there.
“Minister Ong recalls that months later, at another dinner, Su happened to be there too.”
The ministers’ press secretaries added that the ministers do not know Su personally, and “have had no contact or dealings with him, before or since these occasions”.
Su, a Cypriot national, faced 14 charges and was sentenced to 14 months’ jail on April 4, 2024. He was deported to Cambodia on May 28, 2024.
He was one of the 10 people accused in the $3-billion money laundering case.
He was arrested at a 32,000 sq ft house at Ewart Park in Bukit Timah on Aug 15, 2023, after jumping from the second-floor balcony of the good class bungalow during the police raid.
During his sentencing, he admitted to one charge of resisting arrest and two money laundering charges, the latter of which involved possessing over $1.4 million, suspected to be criminal benefits, in Yihao Cyber Technologies’ DBS and UOB accounts.
He was also slapped with an additional charge of money laundering in November 2024.
The PAP government upholds a high standard of integrity, the statement said, and the ministers are determined to uphold this, even though in the course of their work, they may inadvertently come into contact with people who are later established to be unsavoury.
“Maintaining this standard is non-negotiable,” it said.
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