SINGAPORE, May 6 — Three Singaporean ministers have defended their presence at dinners with Su Haijin, a China-born national later jailed in the country’s largest money laundering case.
Su, a 42-year-old Cypriot who was born in Fujian, China, was convicted in April 2024 for offences linked to a S$3 billion (RM9.8 billion) laundering ring and was deported to Cambodia after serving his sentence, Bloomberg reported.
Photos of Su dining with the ministers emerged online shortly after the People’s Action Party’s decisive victory in the 3 May general election.
The ministers involved — Ng Chee Meng, Ong Ye Kung and Chee Hong Tat — said they had no personal relationship with Su and attended the meals by invitation.
Ng said in a statement that as NTUC secretary-general, he engaged companies and people from different industries, and noted that the dinner “took place some time back.”
He added, “Thereafter, I had no further interactions with him,” referring to learning about Su’s police investigation and criminal charges later on.
Ong and Chee issued a joint statement on Tuesday saying they did not know Su personally, and had “attended the dinners at the invitation of a friend.”
They confirmed that Ong had attended one additional dinner where Su “happened to be present,” but maintained they have had “no contact with Mr Su before or since those occasions.”
The ministers said, “The PAP government upholds a high standard of integrity, and the ministers are determined to uphold this,” even if their duties may bring them into contact with questionable individuals.
Sam Goi, a well-known Singapore tycoon nicknamed the “Popiah King,” said he organised and paid for the meals as informal gatherings before COVID-19 restrictions were imposed in 2020.
“It’s all for friends and I paid for them all,” Goi said in the report, adding from China that he no longer keeps in touch with Su.
Su, who once lived lavishly in Singapore and tried to flee police by jumping off a mansion balcony, forfeited more than S$165 million in assets linked to illegal gambling revenue.