Choo Wee Khiang
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Choo Wee Khiang | |
|---|---|
| 朱为强 | |
.jpg) Choo in 1997 | |
| Member of the Singapore Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC | |
| In office 31 August 1991 – 3 December 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Peh Chin Hua, Lee Boon Yang, Sidek Saniff (PAP) |
| Succeeded by | Lee Boon Yang, Loh Meng See, Yaacob Ibrahim, Lily Neo, Heng Chee How (PAP) |
| Member of the Singapore Parliament for Marine Parade GRC | |
| In office 3 September 1988 – 14 August 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Yeoh Ghim Seng (PAP) |
| Succeeded by | Lim Chee Onn (PAP) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1955 (age 70–71) |
| Party | People's Action Party (1988–2001) |
| Relatives | Desmond Choo (nephew) |
Choo Wee Khiang (Chinese: 朱为强; pinyin: Zhū Wéiqiáng; born 1955) is a former politician in Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP). He was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Whampoa division of Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency between 1997 and 1999. Choo resigned from both the party and Parliament before being convicted for cheating.[1]
Choo had previously represented the Kallang division of Jalan Besar GRC between 1991 and 1997 and the Joo Chiat division of Marine Parade GRC between 1981 and 1991. Choo was charged with three counts of corruption in 2011 and one of criminal breach of trust during his tenure as President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association between 1991 and 1998 and again between 2002 and 2008.[2]
Choo made his political debut in the 1988 general election where he contested in Marine Parade GRC against the opposition Singapore Justice Party.
During the 1991 general election, Choo contested in Jalan Besar GRC and won with a walkover. In March 1992, Choo caused a controversy when he made a remark in Parliament about driving through Little India and finding the neighbourhood in "complete darkness", "not because there was no light, but because there were too many Indians around there".[3] This had led to calls for his resignation.[4] Choo later apologised, calling his remark a "joke".[5]
During the 1997 general election, Choo contested in Jalan Besar GRC again and won against the opposition Singapore Democratic Party. In December 1999, Choo resigned from the party and Parliament before pleading guilty to cheating charges in court. With Choo's resignation, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the other MPs in Jalan Besar GRC will continue to serve the residents.[1]
Choo served as Deputy President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) between 1989 and 1991 and was elected as President in 1991 before resigning in 1998.[6] After a four-year break, he became President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association again in 1998. He succeeded Yeo Guat Kwang as STTA's president in 2002 after being elected unopposed at STTA's biennial general meeting at the Singapore Table Tennis Academy.[6] Choo stepped down as president during STTA's biennial general meeting in 2008.[7] After leaving STTA in 2008, Choo became the general manager of Marina Bay Golf Course.[8][9]
Choo was also Asia’s representative in the International Table Tennis Federation Development and Continental Council from 2004 and the Honorary Treasurer of the Asian Table Tennis Union from 1991. In 2009, Choo received the IOC President's Trophy from the Singapore National Olympic Committee for his outstanding contributions to the development of table tennis in Singapore since 1989.[10]