No association found between Ong Ye Kung, Chee Hong Tat and Fujian gang member Su Haijin, confirm press secretaries.
FRESH TAKE:
In Singapore, Some High-Profile Figures Found Mingling with a Convicted Money Launderer
Here's the lowdown: a notorious character by the name of Su Haijin made headlines in Singapore's 2023 multibillion-dollar money laundering case. Facing 14 charges, Su was sentenced to 14 months in prison before being deported to Cambodia in April 2024[1][2][3]. Remember the drama when he tried jumping from a balcony during a police raid in August 2023[2]? Exciting stuff.
One of the faces to pop up in Su's company was Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat. A few pictures of them together at dinners surfaced online, with Su also present[1][2][3]. But don't worry, Ong and Chee claim they didn't know Su personally and weren't mixing business with this money launderer. The reason behind their get-togethers? Invitations from a mate[1][3]. It's all about the casual dinners, people!
Another individual caught in the snapshots was labour chief Ng Chee Meng, recently elected as the Member of Parliament for Jalan Kayu SMC. Yet again, no personal relationship or professional ties existed between Ng and Su[1][4]. Ng explains that their encounter took place during a dinner event, and his subsequent interactions with Su were nil[1][4].
This situation showcases Singapore's ongoing battle in combating high-profile financial crimes and the occasional social encounters of public figures with individuals like Su[1][3]. It’s important to remember that in many instances, these meetings may simply be incidental to their public engagements.
- Singapore's General-News and Crime-and-Justice sections reported a post-2025 concern as the incident of ministers, such as Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, being pictured with a convicted money launderer, Su Haijin, during subsequent social engagements.
- The Subsequent political fallout from the 2023 multibillion-dollar money laundering case has cast a shadow on Singapore's politics, with the general public questioning the actions of ministers mingling with Haijin despite his criminal past.
- Despite claims to the contrary, Labour Chief and Member of Parliament Ng Chee Meng's appearance with Haijin in photographs has raised eyebrows in the post-GE2025 political landscape, with questions around their casual dinners and any potential indirect involvement in crime-and-justice matters.
- These high-profile instances of encounters between Singapore's political figures and convicted money launderers serve to emphasize the country's ongoing post-2025 struggle against financial crimes, both in terms of policymaking and personal conduct.
