SINGAPORE: One of the men photographed at a dinner attended by several Cabinet ministers and convicted Fujian gang member Su Haijin has been wrongly identified as the chief executive of commodities giant Wilmar.
The photos, which are being widely circulated, carry a caption in Mandarin identifying one of the men as Kuok Khoon Hong, who is Wilmar’s chairman and chief executive.
In a statement on Wednesday (May 7), Wilmar said the man in the photos is not Kuok.
Others in the photos are Cabinet ministers Ong Ye Kung and Chee Hong Tat, both of whom said they did not know Su and have not had any contact with him – before or since the dinner.
The ministers’ spokesmen, in a joint statement on May 6, said: “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.”
The Government upholds a high standard of integrity, which ministers are determined to maintain, even if, in the course of their work, they may inadvertently come into contact with people who are later found to be unsavoury, the statement added.
“Maintaining this standard is non-negotiable,” it said.
Su, a Cypriot national, faced 14 charges and was sentenced to 14 months in jail on April 4, 2024. He was deported to Cambodia on May 28 of the same year.
He was one of 10 people found guilty of being involved in a $3 billion money laundering case, which was one of Singapore’s largest.
Also seen in the photos is Singapore tycoon Sam Goi, dubbed the “popiah king”. One group photo shows Goi with Su, Ong and former manpower minister Lim Swee Say.
Labour chief Ng Chee Meng also said he was at the dinner. He added that he had no further interactions with Su after police investigations and criminal charges were brought against him.
Goi said the dinner with Su and Ng took place “around 2020”, Bloomberg News reported.
He also said he had organised and paid for the meals that Su and the ministers had. The dinner took place before Singapore implemented strict Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in 2020.
“It’s all for friends and I paid for them all,” Goi said, adding that he has not kept in touch with Su.
Ng said it is part of his work to engage with different companies and private sector leaders.
“These engagements help me better understand the concerns and challenges in different industries,” he said, adding that people would often approach him for photographs at these meetings.
“This dinner was one such engagement,” Ng said. - The Straits Times/ANN
