Teh Cheang Wan

Teh Cheang Wan (3 March 1928 – 14 December 1986) was a Singaporean politician and architect who served as Minister for National Development between 1979 and 1986. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Geylang West SMC between 1979 and 1986.

In November 1986, Teh was investigated by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) for alleged corruption. Teh died by suicide on 14 December 1986 before he could be charged in court.

Early life and career
Teh was educated at Lai Teck School and Chung Ling High School, Penang. He graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956, majoring in architecture.

Teh started his career as an architect at New South Wales Public Works. He subsequently moved to the Housing Commission in New South Wales before expanding his expertise with the Housing Trust in Kuala Lumpur and serving in the Penang City Council.

In August 1959, Teh joined the Singapore Improvement Trust as an architect. He was promoted to Chief Architect, Building Department of the newly formed Housing and Development Board (HDB) in October 1959. He later became the chief executive officer of HDB from 1970 to 1979. He was also the chairman of Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) from 1976 to 1979. He resigned from his posts to enter into politics.

Teh was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Geylang West SMC in January 1979, and held the seat until his death in December 1986. He was appointed Minister for National Development on 1 February 1979.

As Minister for National Development, Teh proposed a ban on chewing gum in 1983 in light of public cleanliness issues. Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew rejected the idea as being too drastic, but nine years after Teh's initial proposal, a chewing gum ban was passed into law.

Corruption charges
Teh was investigated for corruption by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) for accepting two bribes of $400,000 each in 1981 and 1982. As Minister for National Development, Teh had allegedly accepted bribes totaling $1 million from 2 private companies for helping them retain and buy over a piece of state land for private development.

In November 1986, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, approved an open investigation on his alleged corruption; however, the papers were issued to the Attorney-General on 11 December. Although Teh maintained his innocence, he committed suicide before being charged for the offences, on 14 December.

In his suicide note, Teh wrote:

I have been feeling very sad and depressed for the last two weeks.

I feel responsible for the occurrence of this unfortunate incident and I feel I should accept full responsibility. As an honourable oriental gentleman I feel it is only right that I should pay the highest penalty for my mistake.

As a result of the suicide, the Attorney-General could not proceed with the charges, although Lee Kuan Yew responded with a condolence letter after ascertaining the cause of his death with Ministry of Health. The letter recognized his role in helping modernize the construction industry, speed up the building of expressways, and lessen traffic jams.

On 26 January 1987, Lee Kuan Yew delivered a parliamentary speech by reading out the suicide note addressed to him, written by Teh. He then revealed for the first time that Teh was being investigated for accepting bribes. Lee stressed that "there is no way a Minister can avoid investigations, and a trial if there is evidence to support one." Later in the book titled Lee Kuan Yew: The Man and His Ideas, published in 1998, Lee reiterated the importance of having a system where people act in accordance with certain principles. "'The purpose is not just to be righteous. The purpose is to create a system which will carry on because it has not been compromised. I didn't do that just to be righteous about Teh Cheang Wan. But if I had compromised, that is the end of the system.'"However, there was a subsequent investigation into the matter as a result of allegation of Chiam See Tong, the opposition MP, that there were unanswered questions into the whole episode. On 20 January 1987, the State Coroner returned a verdict of suicide due to an overdose of amytal barbiturate. In December 1987, the findings of the Commission of Inquiry were presented to the President of Singapore, however, they were not released to the public till the end the year. The entire probe lasted 31 months.

National honours

 * 🇸🇬 Singapore: Pingat Jasa Gemilang (1976)