Seafood supplier charged with giving $1m in bribes

[Latka]

Feb 22, 2011

Seafood supplier charged with giving $1m in bribes

By Elena Chong

 

Tay is said to have given bribes of between $232 and $24,143 between 2006 and 2009 to chefs of popular Chinese restaurants and five-star hotels to advance his company's business by ensuring that they continued to buy seafood products from his company. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

 

A SEAFOOD supplier was brought to court on Tuesday for corruptly giving bribes totalling about $992,000 to 19 chefs.

 

Tay Ee Tiong, 55, owner of Wealthy Seafood Product and Enterprise, is the first to be charged, following a 2009 probe by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau into more than 20 top chefs who allegedly accepted the kickbacks.

 

Tay, who faces 223 charges, is said to have given bribes of between $232 and $24,143 between 2006 and 2009 to chefs of popular Chinese restaurants and five-star hotels to advance his company's business by ensuring that they continued to buy seafood products from his company.

 

The chefs were from 17 restaurants. Among them are PFS Pte Ltd, Shangri-La Hotel, Meritus Mandarin, Marriott Hotel, Goodwood Park Hotel, Grand Hyatt, Four Seasons Hotel, Sheraton Hotel and Por Kee Eating House.

 

In 11 charges, Tay allegedly conspired with Leung Wing Hoi, then Shangri-La's Chinese banquet chef, to hand over bribes amounting to $32,137 to its executive chef Peter Tsung Kang Hung between 2007 and 2009, to advance Wealthy Seafood's business interest.

 

Mr Choo Si Sen is representing Tay, who is on $30,000 bail. The case was adjourned to April 21 for a pre-trial conference. If convicted, Tay faces a fine of up to $100,000 and/or a jail term of up to five years on each charge.

 

 

Seems like the chefs didn't bother to feed the juniors, hence kena reported to CPIB.

[Lammy84]

This part i dont understand, aint giving kickbacks to consumers (chefs) fine as long as they are not doing anything that compromises the restaurant like overpaying etc?

Car salesman also always offer kick backs to customers to buy from them???

[GLZT]

This happens very commonly, but its not easy to be pao toh leh. Moreover, there isnt much competitive advantages among all the suppliers except by giving these "perks" assuming all their seafood are market price and same quality.

[Tarzan666]

Seems like seafood earn big bucks leh..

the guy who lose 30+m oso deals with seafood rite..

[Latka]

This part i dont understand, aint giving kickbacks to consumers (chefs) fine as long as they are not doing anything that compromises the restaurant like overpaying etc?

Car salesman also always offer kick backs to customers to buy from them???

 

My opinion is that someone complained against one of the chefs to CPIB then only they investigate. Otherwise CPIB won't know anything.

That's wat CPIB is for anyway, for people who have knowledge of such activities to lodge complaints wif them for them to investigate.

 

[Latka]

This happens very commonly, but its not easy to be pao toh leh. Moreover, there isnt much competitive advantages among all the suppliers except by giving these "perks" assuming all their seafood are market price and same quality.

 

Those who take shud oso take care of juniors or those who wud know about their acts.

Once CPIB investigates, they wl dig out bank accounts and all.

Anyway, all a person has to do is to write in on anonymous basis and they wl investigate oready.

[Latka]

Seems like seafood earn big bucks leh..

the guy who lose 30+m oso deals with seafood rite..

 

So for this case, $1M is peanuts.

[Kusje]

This part i dont understand, aint giving kickbacks to consumers (chefs) fine as long as they are not doing anything that compromises the restaurant like overpaying etc?

Car salesman also always offer kick backs to customers to buy from them???

 

When the salesman offers the cook a discount, the cook benefits but his company doesn't. If his seafood were really number one, would he have to offer bribes?

[Daniel3]

Hi,

 

But this is part and parcel of being in the sale line.Any sale man can deny this??

 

Sometime you have to know how to zhuo rei.Be flexible.

 

You buy a gift for your customer to thank him for his support,take him out for dinner,entertainment also wrong?

 

Maybe it is becos you give money.Some junior chef eye red.

[Yaloryalor]

Hi,

 

But this is part and parcel of being in the sale line.Any sale man can deny this??

 

Sometime you have to know how to zhuo rei.Be flexible.

 

You buy a gift for your customer to thank him for his support,take him out for dinner,entertainment also wrong?

 

Maybe it is becos you give money.Some junior chef eye red.

 

When give entertainment, buy food, buy drinks but not to the extend to give money mah.

 

End of the day, do watever you can buy dun get caught.

[Csnewbie]

This part i dont understand, aint giving kickbacks to consumers (chefs) fine as long as they are not doing anything that compromises the restaurant like overpaying etc?

Car salesman also always offer kick backs to customers to buy from them???

 

This is called rebate.

 

Which is legal & open.

[Csnewbie]

So for this case, $1M is peanuts.

 

Actually these peanuts are taken back fr Co bosses in the end,w/o them knowing.

 

I personally knew that.

[Watwheels]

If I'm one of the juniors I will not want to be the whistleblower cos I know I cannot hide forever, it's a career suicide.

 

I think it's the management who found out when the prices of seafood are higher dan other suppliers'. It's obvious, once he knows that the chefs will only buy the seafood from him, he can up the prices with ease, the chefs will not stop him cos their "benefits" are coming from there.

[Latka]

If I'm one of the juniors I will not want to be the whistleblower cos I know I cannot hide forever, it's a career suicide.

 

I think it's the management who found out when the prices of seafood are higher dan other suppliers'. It's obvious, once he knows that the chefs will only buy the seafood from him, he can up the prices with ease, the chefs will not stop him cos their "benefits" are coming from there.

 

Can do it anonymously mah, nobody has to know. My previous boss did it to her rival in power in the same ofice. In the end, she is sitting at the top now. But for how long I dunno.

[Chrispie]

rebates as u call it, is rampant.. but its illegal because the chefs are using their executive power for their own gains. If the kick backs are back to the company, then its a different story.