Ministry of Foreign Affairs Defend the interest of citizens and corporations
Canada acted on the request of the US government and charge Sabrina Meng, CFO of Huawei for breaking the US sanction on Iran. If convicted in court, she wil be extradited to US to face the relevant charges.

In retaliation, the China govt severe action against several Canadian citizens for breaking the law in China. Click here.

China acted swiftly to protect the interest of its citizens and corporations.

How is this relevant to Singapore?

I wish to bring out the case of Keppel Corporation that was charged by the US govt for bribing the Brazilian officials through an agent. Keppel has to pay a hefty compensation to the relevant parties to settle this corruption charge. See here.

I held the view, at that time, that Keppel paid the agent to handle the local affairs. It was the agent that broke the relevant laws and not Keppel. Furthermore, this appeared to be a common practice in the trade.

Although the agent had testified that he was authorized by Keppel to make the bribes, Keppel could have denied the allegation. 

I could be wrong in my interpretation. It was a separate matter. I do not believe that the law abiding executives of Keppel could have engaged in blatant corrupt practices.

However, I do not recall that the Singapore govt took any action to protect the interest of its citizens and its corporations, i.e. the executives of Keppel or of Keppel itself. The govt keep silent in the background.

I may not be fair in making this statement. 

Nevertheless I wish to point out the difference in the stance of the Singapore govt at that time and of China today, in dealing with a similar situation. I have to give a low mark for our foreign ministry and for the government itself.

Tan Kin Lian








 

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