So what’s new after GE2025? More drama. Mr Ng Chee Meng must have heaved a sigh of relief on the night of 3 May, but just when the PRCs with pink ICs were cheering the 大胜, a photo posted by former Reform Party chairman Charles Yeo suddenly went viral. The photo showed convicted money launderer Su Hai Jin 苏海金 and Mr Ng Chee Meng at a dinner. There were also photos showing Mr Ong Ye Kung and Mr Chee Hong Tat with Sea of Gold.
Mr Sea of Gold, a Cypriot national, was among 10 foreigners arrested in a $3 billion money laundering case on Aug 15, 2023. He was sentenced to 14 months’ jail in April 2024 after admitting to one charge of resisting arrest (jumped off the second-floor balcony of a house trying to flee arrest.) After serving their sentences, they were deported and barred from returning to Singapore. In Singapore, money laundering carries severe penalties. Individuals convicted of money laundering can face a fine up to S$500,000 or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both. Companies can face fines up to S$1 million or double the value of the property involved, whichever is higher. Additionally, the government can seize and forfeit assets linked to money laundering, including cash, property, and vehicles. So interesting that the biggest case in Singapore got only a slap on the wrist.
Social media was quickly abuzz with speculations. On 6 May, the press secretaries of Mr Ong Ye Kang and Mr Chee Hong Tat, who is also Second Minister for Finance, said in a joint statement that the ministers do not know Su personally, and do not have any contact with him. 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.”
Also appearing in the photos is local tycoon Sam Goi, dubbed the “popiah king”. One group photo shows Mr Goi with Su, Mr Ong and former Cabinet minister Lim Swee Say. Mr Goi told Bloomberg News that the dinner with Su and Mr Ng took place “around 2020”.
He also said he had organised and paid for the meals that Su and the ministers attended, which took place before Singapore implemented strict Covid-19 pandemic restrictions later that year (7 April 2020).
“It’s all for friends and I paid for them all,” Mr Sam Goi told Bloomberg, adding that he has not kept in touch with Sea of Gold.
Responding to queries, Mr Lim Swee Say said he was invited to a dinner between friends. No wonder he feels so rich.
“When we got there, we saw a stranger at the dinner too. The dinner was a social gathering among good old friends, in the presence of spouses. Su was the only stranger there. No idea why he was included since it was a gathering of good old friends,” said Mr Lim “I did not know him before the dinner. I did not have any contact with him after the dinner.”
Sounds like a wedding dinner.
In response to the latest bombshell, newly minted Jalan Kayu MP Ng Chee Meng asked Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to not assign him any position in government. Alamak! Does that mean we’re going to lose a minister we can’t afford to lose? In a statement made on 6 May, Mr Ng Chee Meng explained that the needs of his residents are his priority. He actually went back and responded to an accusation from a former teacher at an MOE event. Over the next five years, Ng Chee Meng said that he will focus on his duties as the MP in Jalan Kayu and his role as secretary-general of NTUC. Mr Ng Chee Meng also apologised in response to criticisms about his conduct at a Ministry of Education (MOE) dialogue in 2017. Why suddenly so humble? FYI, I’ve debated with Mr Ng Chee Meng when he was doing a house visit, so I’m not at all surprised by the encounter the trainee teacher had. In the aftermath of GE2020, xinyao singer 黄宏墨 lamented the loss of a “good minister”. I argued with him, then unfollowed him.
Thankfully, our newsPApers have not been deaf to what everybody is talking about. I doubt they will pursue the matter, so let us leave it to the online amateurs to uncover more and perhaps even call for a formal investigation. But seriously, you won’t believe what the PLPs are capable of saying until you actually hear them.
This is the sort of PLP who have absolute faith in people in Iswaran’s party. With enough people like them, the government can get away with anything. The next guy is even more interesting. What does he know about witch-hunting? Is this what you call witch-hunting? The people elected him. The same people who elected Mr Ng Chee Meng can likewise demand his resignation if they think he is unfit for his post at any point in time. It doesn’t mean that you are immune to scrutiny just because you’ve been elected. Socialising with a criminal is suspicious by any standards.
In conclusion, even for a mediocre person like me, I would not go for dinner and raise my glass with someone going by the name 海金 while holding a Cypriot passport. Not that it’s likely to happen but there aren’t that many big shots like Ng Chee Meng or billionaires around. How did they get to be so rich? I’m cynical, but those who became billionaires doing legal businesses have products or services which are pretty much known to the whole world. The unknown ones …
Like I’ve said before, I’m against the death penalty for drug mules. Hang one and the desperate ones just keep coming. But hang a billionaire and other greedy ones may think twice about bringing their business here. Auditing billionaires may be a monumental task, but 擒贼擒王. Hang one drug baron and the door is closed on dozens of mules. Eliminate another billionaire and the number of scam victims and illegal weapons may drop significantly. Do we know our billionaires well enough? What else could 海金 be guilty of? Are things just going to cool off on our official media?
But seriously folks, there may be no cause for celebration here. We really don’t have that many choices for ministers and DPM left.
