Gourmet food distribution company director fined for bribing head chef of Omakase Burger

SINGAPORE: The director of a gourmet food distribution company was fined S$53,300 on Monday (Nov 8) for repeatedly bribing the head chef of Omakase Burger in order to supply truffle oil to the American-style gourmet burger chain.

Edmund Chan Yong Ann, 45, was convicted after a trial of 30 counts of corruptly giving gratification to Hoe Kim Tick, to advance his business interests with Omakase Burger.

Chan had founded Orchard Hills, a food distribution company that imported and supplied gourmet food items to restaurants, in 2013. He met Hoe in late 2014, when Hoe was the head chef of Omakase Burger, in charge of ordering supplies and managing kitchen inventory.

Chan had discussions with Hoe about the type, price and quantity of truffle oil used by Omakase, and wanted to become Omakase's truffle oil supplier as it was the most profitable item in Orchard Hills' inventory.

Chan paid S$300 in cash every month from February 2015, making 24 such payments at the smoking areas at Turf City or Wisma Atria. Chan also gave Hoe two red packets, a bottle of Martell Cognac, a Masamoto knife worth S$150, a Louis Vuitton belt worth S$300 to S$400, and a Bottega Veneta wallet worth S$300.

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) caught wind of the offences and took a statement from Chan in February 2017.

Chan's lawyers asked for a fine of S$45,000, pointing to his cooperation with authorities and corroboration in interviews. The truffle oil was supplied to Omakase, they said.

The prosecutor asked instead for a fine of S$54,000, rebutting the defence and saying it is "artificial to say that there is no real loss". 

"The ultimate issue when it comes to corruption and how insidious it is,
is always that the principal could have gotten better quality goods or a better price," she said, adding that there is "certainly economic harm".

For each charge of corruptly giving gratification to further his business interests, Chan could have been jailed up to five years, fined up to S$100,000, or both.

Hoe had pleaded guilty to his role in the corruption, and was called as a prosecution witness. He was fined S$35,000 and given a penalty of S$7,476 in June 2018.

Omakase Burger earlier announced on its Facebook page that it would cease its operations by the end of October this year.