SINGAPORE - A senior engineer at SP PowerGrid was sentenced to six weeks' jail on Thursday (April 14) for receiving a $20,000 bribe from the director of an engineering firm in 2018.

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a statement on Thursday that Mervyn Quek Han Leng, a 36-year-old Singaporean, sent a WhatsApp message to Ong Wei Jian, a director of One West Engineering, to tell him about an upcoming tender on the supply and laying of gas mains and services.

"Subsequently, Quek shared confidential gas plans which contained information such as gas pipe routings, locations and pipe sizes with Ong before the official opening of the said tender," said CPIB.

"Hence, Ong stood to gain a competitive advantage in the said tender submission."

Quek received $20,000 from Ong on April 4, 2018, for the information.

Both men were charged with corruption in April last year.

Ong, a 35-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to six weeks' jail earlier in January.

CPIB said Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption.

It advises companies to put in place robust procedures in areas such as procurement and internal audit to prevent themselves from falling victim to corrupt acts by their employees.

Guidance for companies on how to prevent corruption can be found in the publication Pact: A Practical Anti-Corruption Guide For Businesses In Singapore, which is available on CPIB's website.

Companies are also strongly encouraged to get certification under the Singapore Standard (SS) ISO 37001 - Anti-Bribery Management Systems, which is designed to help them implement or enhance an anti-bribery management system to reduce bribery-related corporate risk and costs.

Those found guilty of corruption can be fined up to $100,000, jailed up to five years, or both.