Singapore: On Monday (November 8), the director of a gourmet food distribution company was fined S$53,300 for repeatedly bribing the chef of Omakase Burger to supply truffle oil to the American gourmet burger chain.
Edmund Chan Yong Ann, 45, was convicted after receiving 30 bribes from Hoe Kim Tick to promote his business interests with Omakase Burger.
Chan founded Orchard Hills in 2013, a food delivery company that imports and serves gourmet food to restaurants. He met Hoe at the end of 2014, when Hoe was the chef of Omakase Burger, responsible for ordering supplies and managing kitchen inventory.
Chan and Hoe discussed the type, price and quantity of truffle oil used by Omakase, and hoped to become Omakase’s truffle oil supplier because it is the most profitable item in Orchard Hills’ inventory.
Since February 2015, Chan has paid S$300 a month in cash and made 24 such payments in Turf City or Wisma Atria smoking areas. Chan also gave Hoe two red envelopes, a bottle of Martell cognac, a Masamoto knife worth S$150, a Louis Vuitton belt worth S$300 to S$400, and a Bottega Veneta wallet worth S$300.
The Corruption Investigation Bureau (CPIB) learned of these crimes in February 2017 and listened to Chen’s confession.
Chen’s lawyer requested a fine of S$45,000 and stated that he had cooperated with the authorities and provided corroboration in the interview. They said that truffle oil was supplied to Omakase.
Instead, the prosecutor demanded a fine of S$54,000, retorting the defense and saying that it “artificially stated that there was no real loss.”
“On the ultimate question of corruption and its insidious degree,
It is always the client who can get better quality goods or better prices,” she said, adding that “it will definitely cause economic losses.”
For every allegation of corrupting his business interests, Chan was sentenced to up to five years in prison, a fine of up to S$100,000, or both.
Hoe admitted his role in corruption and was summoned as a witness for the prosecution. He was fined S$35,000 and fined S$7,476 in June 2018.
Omakase Burger announced on its Facebook page earlier that it will cease operations before the end of October this year.
