Are we about to see another corruption scandal erupting in Singapore? We’re not alleging any corruption on the part of the HDB, but this deal with Life Corp’s $1 company certainly reeks.
Apparently, the company which has been entrusted to build the upcoming columbarium in Sengkang has been discovered to be a $1 company, set up just days before the tender for the columbarium project closed. It’s called Eternal Pure Land, which is run by Life Corp.
Life Corp was awarded the contract to build the columbarium, despite having no expertise in the management of columbariums or burial services.
Ironically, Life Corp used to dabble in the science of keeping people alive – regenerative medicine and stem cell technology. That was back in 2001, when the company was known as Cordlife. It was only incorporated as Life Corporation in 2013.
Under its new name, Life Corp bought over Singapore Funeral Services, and changed its mission to providing world-class funeral services for Singaporeans.
Life Corp set up another company, Eternal Pure Land to bid for the Sengkang columbarium project. That was the $1 paid-up company which subsequently won the contract.
In sum, why did the HDB engage a $1 company, with no expertise in the funeral services field or temple-building field, to develop the temple-columbarium in Sengkang?
Were there any other companies bidding for the same project which had more expertise in this field?
What was its criteria for selecting Eternal Pure Land – managed by Life Corp – to manage this development?
It’s time for the HDB to come clean and reveal its selection process.
