Phey Yew Kok

Phey Yew Kok (Chinese: 彭由国; pinyin: Péng Yóuguó; born 1934) is a former Singaporean politician and union leader. He was the Member of Parliament for Boon Teck constituency from 1972 to 1980 and the President of the National Trades Union Congress from 1970 to 1980. He was convicted in 2016 for charges of misuse of union funds laid against him in 1979. He was on the run for 35 years before surrendering to Singapore authorities in 2015.

Phey Yew Kok
彭由国
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Boon Teck
In office 2 September 1972 – 31 March 1980
Constituency	Boon Teck SMC
Personal details
Born	1934 (age 87–88) Straits Settlements
Nationality	Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Spouse	1
Children	3
Alma mater	Singapore Technical Institute
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Trade union representative

In this Chinese name, the family name is Phey.

Early life and education

Phey was born in 1934.^[1] He was educated in a Chinese stream secondary school before switching to an English stream secondary school.^[1] He also had also studied accountancy at the Singapore Technical Institute,^[2] while teaching at a primary school.^[3][4]

Career

Phey started working in the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) as an accounts clerk. While working at MSA, Phey began to suffer from hearing loss due to him working at the airport where there was high levels of noise.^[5] When he was promoted to be a planning officer in the production and planning department of MSA, he joined its union, Singapore Air Transport Union (SATU)^[a] and was elected into SATU's executive committee in 1960.^[3][1] He subsequently held the treasurer post in SATU in 1966,^[9] and finally the president position in 1968. Devan Nair took notice of him in 1969, and under Devan's mentorship, Phey also became the General Secretary of two other prominent unions, Singapore Industrial Labour Organisation (SILO) and Pioneer Industries Employees' Union (PIEU) by 1970.^[10] Phey also became the president of National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in the same year. By then, he was also promoted into the planning division of Singapore Airlines, the Singapore successor of MSA.

In November 1969, Phey was slashed in the thigh while exiting from the Union House located on Beng Wan Road.^[11] On 21 July 1970, he was again slashed by four men over union infighting at Stirling Road, which left him a 7.5 cm scar on his face.^[1][11]

Under Phey's leadership, SILO's membership grew exponentially, from 4,000 to 12,000 members within a year, and acquired a headquarters for $210,000 in 1971.^[12]

Phey entered into politics in the 1972 Singaporean general election under People's Action Party banner for Boon Teck constituency, and won 66.8% of the votes cast there.^[13] Phey credited his win to the fact that many in the constituency were also members of SILO and PIEU.^[3] Phey was reelected in the same constituency in the next general election in 1976, winning 71.9% of the votes cast there.^[14]

On 25 May 1979, Phey became the chairman of NTUC.^[10]

Misuse of union funds

In 1977, an amendment to the Trade Unions Act was introduced and passed in the Parliament to limit the usage of the funds of registered trade unions to just investments in stocks and shares of companies, and with a Minister's approval. On 16 September 1978, Phey used $11,235 of SILO's funds to finance the purchase of shares of a supermarket. On 18 September 1979, he used $6,510 of PIEU's funds to purchase shares of another supermarket. Both purchases were done without approval from the Minister.^[15] In mid of 1979, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) launched an investigation into Phey over alleged malpractices in SILO and PIEU.^[10]

On 4 December 1979, Phey tendered his resignations at SILO and PIEU. However, these were held in abeyance until he was formally dismissed from all union posts in absentia on 8 January 1980.^[16] Devan, now the president of NTUC was appointed as the acting general secretary for SILO and PIEU.^[17]

Phey was formally charged on 10 December 1979 on two counts of the laws introduced in the 1977 amendments, over the abovementioned share purchases, and on four additional counts of criminal breach of trust.^[15] He pleaded not guilty and was placed under a $100,000 bail, pending a court hearing on 7 January 1980.^[18] However, Phey did not turn up in courts, and caused $95,000 of the bail money to be forfeited.^[19] Phey was last seen in Singapore on 31 December 1979 by his family members, and could not be contacted since then.^[18] It was widely accepted that Phey had fled the country and an arrest warrant for him was placed.^[20] His passport was not surrendered and was valid for travelling, as "there was no evidence to show that he was about to leave the country or even had the intention to do so."^[21] He was also placed on Interpol's wanted list,^[22] while his passport was cancelled.^[10] Subsequent investigations found that Phey left Singapore on 31 December 1979 for Kuala Lumpur via train, thereafter proceeded to Thailand where he disappeared.^[10] Over the years, CPIB had engaged Interpol and its affiliate countries members over the years, to look for him. CPIB officers had travelled to Thailand to look for him, and even Thai authorities had conducted raids to find Phey despite having no extradition treaty between the two countries.^[22][23]

In a Parliament session on 12 March 1984, it was revealed that the total money lost by the unions and union-related enterprises between 1975 and 1979 was $704,173.93. Of which, $557,864.76 had been recovered.^[24]

While on the run in Thailand, Phey worked odd jobs to support himself and had no permanent address as he had no form of identification with him. On his return, Phey was completely blind in his right eye and suffered from severe hearing impairment.^[25]

On 22 June 2015, Phey turned himself in at the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok.^[19] He pleaded guilty to 12 of 34 charges,^[19] and was sentenced to jail for a period of 60 months.^[26] The sentence was backdated to when he was first remanded on 23 June 2015. On 24 October 2019, he was placed under the Singapore Prison Service's Home Detention Scheme (HDS) after he was deemed suitable for it.^[27] HDS is a community-based scheme which allows suitable prisoners to serve the tail-end of their sentences in the community, under supervision.^[27] He completed the jail sentence on 23 October 2020, with a year of the sentence served under home detention.^[26]

Fallout

In addition to the general secretary positions at SILO and PIEU, Phey was also removed from his directorship at the Singapore Labour Foundation and ceased to be a member of Skills Development Fund's advisory council.^[28] He was dismissed from his president post in the Singapore Amateur Boxing Association and Singapore Bus Service.^[29][30]

An annual popular invitational basketball tournament, in Phey's namesake, which was first held in 1976 by SATU, SILO and PIEU, was cancelled in 1980.^[31][32]

Phey had applied for a leave of absence from the Parliament of Singapore and it was granted on 4 January 1980. The leave revoked on 26 February 1980 as the purpose of the leave, for Phey to deal with his court cases, was no longer valid with him fleeing the country.^[21] His seat for Boon Teck constituency was vacated on 31 March 1980, deadline set by the Speaker of the Parliament, after he failed to turn up for Parliament.^[33][34] Despite calls for a by-election, the seat remain vacant until the 1980 Singaporean general election which was held at the end of the year.^[35][36]

Officials associated with Phey in the various trade unions were implicated in this case, with ten faced charges of ranging from criminal breach of trust to abetting after CPIB had conducted further investigations.^{[37][38][39][40]}

By 1982, both SILO and PIEU were broken up and restructured by a task force from NTUC into nine industrial unions.^[41] In 1984, SATU was also dissolved into three house unions.^[42]

Personal life

Phey is married with three children, with at least two of whom are sons, Phey Teck Moh and David Phey Teck Ann.^[43][44][45]

Awards

1971: Public Service Star^[46]

Notes

1. The union representing air transport workers went through several changes of name over time. Prior to 1967, it was known as "Malayan Airways/Qantas Empire Airways Local Employees' Union", and in 1984, SATU was split into three house unions.^[6][7][8]

References

1. Joseph, George (2 February 1980). "The Rise and Fall of Phey Yew Kok" (PDF). The Straits Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
2. "News". www.sp.edu.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
3. "The way to the top —how six new MPs went up the ladder". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
4. "Five new MPs counted much on that personal touch". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
5. "NOISE: I AM A VICTIM, SAYS PHEY". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. New Nation. 16 May 1976. Retrieved 26 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
6. "Singapore Airlines Staff Union". www.siasu.org.sg.
7. "SATU to split into three house unions". eresources.nlb.gov.sg.
8. "New house unions accepted as NTUC affiliates". eresources.nlb.gov.sg.
9. "PHEY QUITS 3 TOP POSTS" (PDF). The Straits Times. 4 December 1979.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
10. "Ex-NTUC chairman and former MP Phey Yew Kok completes jail term: 6 things about the case". The Straits Times. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
11. "Phey attack a plot, hearing told". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
12. "SILO to have its own building soon". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
13. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1972 > Boon Teck". www.singapore-elections.com. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
14. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1976 > Boon Teck". www.singapore-elections.com. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
15. "Supermarts in Phey case" (PDF). New Nation. 11 December 1979.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
16. "Phey now formally stripped of union posts" (PDF). The Straits Times. 9 January 1980.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
17. "Phey quits posts in major unions". Business Times. 4 December 1979.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
18. Davidson, Ben (27 January 1980). "'Phey told us he couldn't bolt — he was under 24-hour watch'" (PDF). The Straits Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
19. hermesauto (22 January 2016). "Former NTUC chairman and ex-MP Phey Yew Kok sentenced to 60 months' jail". The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
20. Joseph, George (9 January 1980). "Appeal for info on Phey" (PDF). The Straits Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
21. "Speaker revokes leave of absence granted to Phey". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
22. "Phey Yew Kok 'is still on wanted list'" (PDF). The Straits Times. 18 January 1984.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
23. "CPIB looked for Phey in Bangkok" (PDF). The Straits Times. 17 March 1989.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
24. "Probe into union's losses completed". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
25. Seow, Bei Yi (22 January 2016). "Ex-NTUC chairman Phey Yew Kok led 'miserable life' when on the run, say lawyers". The Straits Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
26. hermes (25 October 2018). "Ex-NTUC chairman Phey Yew Kok, jailed for criminal breach of trust, completes sentence". The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
27. Vijayan, K.C. (8 May 2018). "Ex-union leader Phey Yew Kok serving last lap of jail term in home detention". The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
28. "Phey dropped". New Nation. 24 February 1980.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
29. "SABA sacks Phey". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
30. "PHEY IS NO LONGER A DIRECTOR OF SBS". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
31. "Unions to cancel Phey Cup this year". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
32. "Don't scrap the tournament, find a donor to save it!". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
33. "Speaker: Phey to lose his seat if..." eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
34. "PHEY LOSES HIS SEAT". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
35. "PHEY'S CONSTITUENCY: BY-ELECTION URGED". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
36. "Barisan to contest election". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
37. "'Normal to obey Phey without question'". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
38. "3 former Silo managers face CBT charges". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
39. "Phey gave okay for all deals says accused". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
40. "Ten others charged". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
41. "The last chapter in the Silo-PIEU story". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
42. "New house unions accepted as NTUC affiliates". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
43. "Phey Yew Kok: from humble beginnings to a life on the run". TODAYonline. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
44. hermes (25 June 2015). "Ex-NTUC president and MP Phey Yew Kok's return may solve political mystery". The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
45. "Almost blind & deaf, ex-PAP MP Phey Yew Kok sentenced to 60 months' jail". mothership.sg. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
46. "PAP picks three for elections". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 26 February 2021.