While there are no exhaustive guidelines as to when the payment or receipt of referral fees is corrupt, much will depend on the individual facts and circumstances of the case and the intent of the parties involved. For example, whether such payments or receipts are properly accounted for, and whether the receivers or the givers are allowed or authorised to accept or make such payments either by their company or the regulatory bodies relating to their profession.

Although it is not possible to list all instances where payment will be deemed to be corrupt, the law has held that one of the elements that is required to establish a corrupt transaction is that the transaction must appear to the ordinary person to be “objectively corrupt”. Therefore, clear instances of corruption would include instances where a “referral fee” is given to an employee as an inducement or as a reward for gaining business advantage and/or is intended to influence the employee to act in such a way that compromises his employer’s interests. Each case must be assessed on its own merits to determine if it is a case of corruption.

Should you be in any doubt as to whether any particular transaction is corrupt, you can consult the CPIB Duty Officer at the CPIB HQ at 2 Lengkok Bahru, or the Corruption Reporting & Heritage Centre at 247 Whitley Road. Alternatively, you can call the Duty Officer at our hotline: 1800 – 3760000.

The CPIB is the only agency that is authorised to investigate into corruption offences.

Besides investigating into corruption offences, the CPIB also aims to prevent corruption in both the public and private sectors.

Broadly, corruption is receiving, asking for or giving any gratification to induce a person to do a favour with a corrupt intent. Therefore, it is not so straightforward without fully understanding the circumstances of the case, the individual facts and the intent of the parties involved. Each case must be assessed on its own merits to determine if it is a case of corruption. The act of giving a genuine gift (such as red packets) in itself without any corrupt intention is not considered corruption. However, if the gift is given secretly, or in a manner that attempts to avoid notice or attention with a view of securing personal special privilege or advantage and more so at the expense of  the recipient’s principal’s/employer’s interest (i.e. resulting in a compromise of the recipient’s official duties), it may be deemed to be corrupt and hence an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In giving gifts, especially if it involved parties whom one may have an official relationship with, one may want to consider being upfront with the recipient’s boss and employer. This would improve transparency and at the same time allow the recipient’s employer to assess if the recipient could be held beholden to the gifts.

Should you be in any doubt as to whether any particular transaction is corrupt, you can consult the CPIB Duty Officer at the CPIB HQ at 2 Lengkok Bahru, or the Corruption Reporting & Heritage Centre at 247 Whitley Road. Alternatively, you can call the Duty Officer at our hotline: 1800 – 3760000.

Seizable offences refer to offences where the persons committing the offences can be arrested without a warrant of arrest. Non-seizable offences are those where a warrant of arrest has to be obtained before the arrest can be made.

The CPIB takes a serious view of any corrupt practices in Singapore and will not hesitate to take action against any parties involved in corrupt practices. We strongly encourage those with information about corruption to use the following channels to reach us:

a) Come down personally or write to us at 2 Lengkok Bahru, Singapore 159047
b) Call CPIB Duty Officer at 1800-376-0000;
c) Lodge an e-complaint
d) Email us at: report@cpib.gov.sg
e) Fax to us at: 6270 0320