A Singapore court on Wednesday charged a senior anti-corruption official with siphoning off more than a million dollars of government money to fund his casino gambling habit.
Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong, 39, an assistant director at the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), is accused of misappropriating S$1.76 million (HK$10.79 million) worth of government funds.
Yeo faces additional charges under Singapore’s tough anti-corruption laws for using the money to gamble at a casino and forgery after he allegedly duplicated a receipt voucher worth S$370,755.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also the minister in charge of the civil service, expressed concern that a senior anti-corruption officer was charged with fraud.
He said the case, the latest involving a senior civil servant, had prompted a review of supervisory procedures in government agencies.
“This case is particularly serious because it involved a senior officer in the CPIB, which is entrusted with the mission of maintaining the integrity of the system,” Teo said in a statement.