SINGAPORE — Tasked to procure around 10,000 hats for an upcoming garden festival, a National Parks Board (NParks) manager decided to offer advice to a supplier on their bid price so the latter is able to secure the government tender.

Later on, Lee Choon Ping, 49, would realise that NParks already had 5,000 hats from a previous order. Instead of taking the right steps to correct this excess, Lee told the supplier to deliver only half the order and transfer S$10,000 — roughly the value for the remaining hats — into his personal amount.