Premature announcement will compromise CPIB probe: DPM Teo

It was premature to make any announcement soon after two top civil servants were arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) as this would have compromised investigations, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said in Parliament on Tuesday.

'It was necessary to give CPIB time to gather evidence, seize documents, conduct interviews with various persons who were connected to the case, and establish whether further action was warranted,' he said.

Mr Teo, who is also Minister for Home Affairs, was responding to MPs' questions on why the arrests of former Singapore Civil Defence Force and Central Narcotics Bureau chiefs Peter Lim Sin Pang and Ng Boon Gay were not publicised earlier.

Mr Ng was arrested on Dec 19, and Mr Lim on Jan 4. A newspaper broke the story on Jan 24, with the Ministry of Home Affairs issuing a statement later in the day.

Source: Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.

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