Chong Chee Wei, a Singaporean permanent resident, pleaded guilty to five corruption charges involving S$142,000 (RM488,480), with an additional 15 charges considered during his sentencing.

The offences took place between 2014 and 2015, The Straits Times reported.

Chee Wei, 48, who owned Katana Engineering, a maintenance and renovation company, admitted to bribing Barry Chong, then director of facilities management at Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), with over S$235,000 (RM808,400) to secure contracts for his company.

WRS is now known as Mandai Wildlife Group.

The bribery was part of a broader corrupt arrangement that began in 2005 between Barry and key personnel at Shin Yong Construction (SYC), including foreman Too Say Kiong, who was sentenced to two years and two months in jail in October 2023.

The scheme was discovered in October 2016 following an investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

The arrangement led to financial losses exceeding S$235,000 for WRS due to an inflated invoice

The court set bail at S$50,000 (RM172,000) for Chee Wei, who is expected to begin serving his sentence on Sept 27.