AGC to appeal against ruling in NParks bike case

SINGAPORE - The prosecution in the case of former National Parks Board (NParks) officer Bernard Lim Yong Soon is appealing against his sentence and acquittal for two charges relating to a $57,200 bicycle deal.

Lim, 42, was convicted on May 29 of lying to auditors from the Ministry of National Development (MND) by falsely claiming he had first met the director of a bicycle firm in March 2012 - after it was awarded the tender.

For this, he was fined the maximum $5,000 by a district court on Tuesday, although the prosecutors had asked for a jail term of at least three to four months.

Lim was sacked by NParks after the decision. He had also earlier been acquitted of a second charge, of instigating Bikehop's director to perpetuate the lie.

However, in a statement yesterday, the Attorney-General's Chambers said it had filed a notice of appeal against the sentence on the first charge and the acquittal on the second charge.

In clearing Lim of the second charge, District Judge Marvin Bay found that the bicycle firm's director had more likely acted out of personal anxiety to keep the two men's stories consistent.

Sparing him jail for the lying conviction, the judge noted it was not a corruption offence. Lim's conduct had not been as bad as that seen in other lying cases resulting in imprisonment.

Lim had alerted Bikehop's director to an upcoming tender in January 2012. The firm successfully bid to supply 26 foldable Brompton bikes to NParks.

Afraid of being discovered after the deal came under scrutiny, Lim lied to MND during an audit on July 18 that year. They had met five months earlier, in 2011.

His lawyer Lawrence Ang said the defence would decide by today whether to appeal against his conviction for lying.

This article was first published on June 12, 2014.
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