CE orders investigation on cultural fund

After the revelation of malpractices in the Cultural Industry Fund (FIC), Chief Executive (CE) Ho Iat Seng has ordered an investigation on the matter, the government announced over the weekend.

At an Executive Council (ExCo) press conference, ExCo spokesperson and Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong disclosed that his superintendent had made the aforementioned decision.

Last week, the Commission of Audit (CA) – the government’s auditor – unearthed a series of malpractices committed in the FIC, such as renting a property for the use of a cultural incubation facility, the management of which is part of the tenant company of the property.

Despite the CA’s report that revealed the allegations, members of the public expressed online that they were not convinced anybody would be held accountable.

At the press conference held to announce the Bill for the Legal System governing Enterprises of Public Capital, the Secretary was questioned on how the government could ensure adequate supervision of these enterprises following the CA report.

The Secretary said that the government takes the CA report seriously, as well as the problems revealed within the report. Elaborating on the matter, he disclosed that the CE had ordered the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) to commence an investigation into the allegations.

Commenting on the alleged lease fraud, the CA accused the FIC in its report of “having never handled any related party transactions that saw conflicts of interests.” The lack of records of the execution of relevant mechanisms is also a failing of the FIC’s management, the CA added. AL