Former CEO of Straits Wine allegedly committed graft in 2017, 2018

Two women, who were then chief executive officer of Singapore Straits Wine Company and then head of operations, allegedly abetted one of their subordinates to give bribes totalling more than $5,000 to a man who was then an assistant general manager at the Cut By Wolfgang Puck restaurant.

Lim Yok Lyn, 47, the wine company's CEO at the time, and Yip Kin Chee, 74, are accused of committing the offences between 2017 and 2018.

Lim's case was heard in a district court yesterday and a search on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's website reveals that she no longer holds a directorial position at the company and has been removed from office since August 2019.

The two Singaporean women are accused of abetting one of the company's sales executives Micael Musoni, 30, to pass the monies to Farook Mohamed Faizal, 37, as an inducement to advance the wine firm's business interest with the restaurant in Marina Bay Sands.

The duo are also accused of abetting Musoni to corruptly agree to offer a bribe of $970 to Farook, an Indian national, in May 2018.

Lim and Musoni, who is Italian, each face eight graft charges, while Farook faces seven.

Yip had earlier been charged with 10 counts of corruption.

Separately, she allegedly abetted the wine company's assistant sales manager Ee Chay Wea, 39, to give bribes totalling more than $1,000 to a marketing communications manager of Sincere Watch in May and June 2018.

Ee, who is Malaysian, is said to have passed the monies to Chinese national David Ang Wei Xiong, 33, as an inducement to advance the wine company's business interest with Sincere Watch.

Ee and Ang each face two graft charges.

Farook's case has been adjourned to next Friday.

The cases involving the other five alleged offenders have been adjourned to next month.

If convicted of graft, an offender can be jailed for up to five years and fined up to $100,000 for each charge.

Correction note: The current CEO of Singapore Straits Wine Company has informed ST that Lim Yok Lyn, Yip Kin Chee, Micael Musoni and Ee Chay Wea are no longer working for the firm.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 19, 2020, with the headline Former CEO of Straits Wine allegedly committed graft in 2017, 2018. Subscribe