'Leave my family alone': Shanmugam says allegation of his son awarded SLA contract for Ridout Road properties 'utterly false'

Law and Home Affairs minister K Shanmugam has said that the allegation that his son was awarded a contract to renovate the Ridout Road state properties is "utterly false and defamatory". 

Responding to a clarification Member of Parliament Nadia Ahmad Samdin (PAP-Ang Mo Kio GRC) raised in Parliament on Monday (July 3), the 64-year-old sternly denied that Livspace, a company in which his son is Southeast Asia CEO, have any contracts with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). 

Describing how there are "established" processes for the awarding of contracts, Shanmugam said: "Do these people really believe that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau [CPIB] would not have found this out if it were true? 

"I say to these people: You want to come after me, you come after me. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. 

"Leave my family alone."

"This is how some conduct politics - try and make it difficult or impossible for family members of people who are prepared to come into public service by putting out deliberately false information."

This was in response to online allegations, fuelled by opposition politician and Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam yesterday, that the renovations for state properties 26 and 31 Ridout Road were headed by Shanmugam's son. 

An investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or preferential treatment given to Shanmugam and Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan. 

Another review, led by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, also found that the process of renting out the black-and-white bungalows did not deviate from prevailing guidelines set by SLA.

The findings were released to the public on June 28.

In response to AsiaOne's queries, Livspace said on Monday that the online allegations are "completely false and baseless".

"Livspace has not undertaken any project or work whatsoever at any of the properties based on Ridout Road - neither for SLA, nor for homeowners, nor for tenants," the company said in a statement. "[We] have no contracts with SLA and have never been engaged by them to do any work." 

Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong also said in Parliament today that the "sting" of the allegation is that it is "completely scurrilous and unwarranted". 

Contracts for works on SLA-owned properties are awarded through open tenders, and that the firm Shanmugam’s son works for is not connected with works on the two properties, he added. 

ALSO READ: Ridout Road bungalows: How were Shanmugam and Vivian's offers so close to SLA's guide rent?

khooyihang@asiaone.com

chingshijie@asiaone.com

No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.