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SINGAPORE: Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat do not know convicted money launderer Su Haijin personally and have no dealings with him, their press secretaries said on Tuesday (May 6).

Pictures of the ministers with Su were posted online by fugitive lawyer and former Reform Party chairman Charles Yeo. Su was one of the 10 people convicted in the billion-dollar money laundering case last year.

“There are some photos circulating, in which Ministers Ong Ye Kung and Chee Hong Tat were pictured at dinners where Fujian gang member Su Haijin was also present,” the ministers' press secretaries said in a joint statement.

“As ministers, they meet a diverse range of people at various events and gatherings.

“They attended the dinners at the invitation of a friend, and Su happened to be there. Minister Ong recalls that months later, at another dinner, Su happened to be there too.”

They said the ministers do not know Su personally and have had no contact or dealings with him, before or since these occasions.

“The PAP government upholds a high standard of integrity and the ministers are determined to uphold this, even though in the course of their work, they may inadvertently come into contact with people who are later established to be unsavoury,” the press secretaries added.

“Maintaining this standard is non-negotiable.”

Labour chief Ng Chee Meng, who was recently elected as Member of Parliament for Jalan Kayu SMC, has also been photographed with Su.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, Mr Ng said he met Su at a dinner engagement, adding that he had no further interactions with him thereafter.

Mr Ng said that as the secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, it is part of his work to engage with different companies and private sector leaders.

"These engagements help me better understand the concerns and challenges in different industries," he said.

"At these engagements, people would often approach me for photographs. This dinner was one such engagement. It took place some time back. I learnt later about the police investigations and subsequent criminal charges against Su. Thereafter, I had no further interactions with him."

����,��a Cypriot national, was sentenced to 14 months' jail in April last year. 

He was the man who jumped off a balcony during a raid in August 2023 to arrest suspects linked to Singapore's largest money laundering case. 

In total, more than S$3 billion (US$2.2 billion) in assets have been seized or frozen in relation to the case.

The 10 people arrested were reportedly part of the Fujian gang, an organised crime syndicate based in Fujian, China.

"THE ONLY STRANGER"

Former Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say, who appeared in one of the photographs alongside Mr Ong and Su, described the event as a "social gathering among old friends" which he said was held on May 10, 2022.

Mr Lim said Su was the only person he did not recognise there, and he had no contact with Su after the dinner.

"A small group of long-time local friends were invited by a long-time local friend to dinner. When I got there, I saw an unfamiliar face at the dinner too," said Mr Lim.

"Su was the only stranger there. No idea why he was included by the host. We did not pay much attention to him as we the old friends were having a fun time catching up with each other."

Local businessman Sam Goi, also known as Singapore's "Popiah King", told Bloomberg on Tuesday that he had organised and paid for the meals the ministers and Mr Ng attended.

"It's all for friends and I paid for them all," the owner and executive chairman of Tee Yih Jia Food Manufacturing reportedly said.

Mr Goi said the meals took place "around 2020" before Singapore implemented COVID-19 restrictions.

He added that he has not kept in touch with Su, who had been a director at Singapore-listed restaurant company No Signboard Holdings.

According to the Bloomberg report, Goi also had a minority stake in the company, which is now called Bromat Holdings.

"It all happened a long time ago," Mr Goi told Bloomberg, referring to the gatherings. "Let it drop."

Another person was tagged in the photo as Wilmar International chairman and CEO Kuok Khoon Hong. In response to �鶹��ý's queries, the company said the man is not Mr Kuok. 

Additional reporting by Matthew Mohan