CHANNEL NEWS ASIA, SINGAPORE – The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) received 215 corruption-related reports last year, down 8 per cent from 2022, with the situation in Singapore remaining “firmly under control”, said the anti-graft agency.
Of the 215 reports received, 81 were registered for investigation, CPIB said in its annual report on Tuesday (Apr 30). A report is registered for investigation “if the information received is pursuable”.
CPIB added that most of the reports investigated in 2023 were in the private sector, at 86 per cent, with public sector cases making up the remaining 14 per cent.
Of the 70 private sector cases in total, nine involved public sector employees rejecting bribes offered by private sector individuals.
CPIB said it was able to complete investigations into 84 per cent of individuals under probe last year.
In total, 111 people were prosecuted in court in 2023 for offences investigated by the anti-graft agency – 105 were from the private sector, while the remainder were public sector employees.
The conviction rate of CPIB cases in 2023 was 99 per cent – the same as the year before.
“The consistently high conviction rate for CPIB cases is testament to the quality of the bureau’s investigation to be able to stand up to scrutiny in court, as well as the close working relationship between CPIB and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in bringing corrupt offenders to task,” the agency said.
Citing several cases it investigated last year, including a director-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and former Transport Minister S Iswaran, CPIB added that it “remains strongly committed to work closely together with all segments of the community to keep Singapore corruption-free”.
Transparency International ranked Singapore as the fifth least corrupt country in the world in its 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Source: CNA/sn(ac)
