Boon Teck Constituency

Boon Teck
Former Single Member constituency for the Parliament of Singapore
Region	Singapore
Former constituency
Created	1972
Abolished	1988
Seats	1
Member	Constituency abolished
Replaced by	Toa Payoh GRC

Boon Teck Constituency was a constituency in Singapore.

In 1988, following the establishment of Group representation constituency (GRC) and SMC,^[1] it was merged into Toa Payoh GRC.

History

In 1972, Phey Yew Kok entered politics during the 1972 general election under the PAP banner for Boon Teck constituency, and won 66.8% of the vote.^[2] He attributed his win by saying that many in the constituency were members of Singapore Industrial Labour Organisation (SILO) and Pioneer Industries Employees' Union of which he was the secretary general.^[3] Phey was reelected in the same constituency in the 1976 general election, winning 71.9% of the vote.^[4]

From 1978 to 1979, Phey used $11,235 of SILO's funds to finance the purchase of shares of a supermarket and $6,510 of PIEU's funds to purchase shares of another supermarket. Neither purchase was done accordingly to the amendment to the Trade Unions Act in 1977 and with the legally required ministerial approval.^[5]

In mid-1979, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) launched an investigation into Phey over alleged malpractices in SILO and PIEU.^[6] Phey was formally charged on 10 December 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.^[5] He pleaded not guilty and was placed under a $100,000 bail, pending a court hearing on 7 January 1980.^[7]

Phey applied for a leave of absence from the Parliament of Singapore and it was granted on 4 January 1980.^[8] The leave was revoked on 26 February 1980 as its purpose, for Phey to deal with his court cases, was no longer valid with his escape from Singapore.^[8] His seat for the constituency was vacated on the deadline of 31 March 1980 set by the Speaker, after he failed to turn up for Parliament.^[9][10] Despite calls for a by-election, the seat remained vacant until the general election at the end of the year.^[11][12]

Member of Parliament

Year	Member	Party
Formation
1972	Phey Yew Kok		PAP
1976
1980	Liew Kok Phun		PAP
1984	Ho Tat Kin		PAP
Constituency abolished (1988)

Electoral results

Note: The Elections Department does not include rejected votes when calculating the vote shares of candidates. Hence, all candidates' vote shares will total to 100% at any given election (may not appear so in multi-way contests due to rounding).

Elections in 1970s

General Election 1972^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	PAP	Phey Yew Kok	9,947	66.75
	PF	Lim Thiam Hock	4,954	33.25
Majority			4,993	33.50
Total valid votes			14,901	97.94
Rejected ballots			314	2.06
Turnout			15,215	93.38
Registered electors			15,958
	PAP win (new seat)

General Election 1976^[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Phey Yew Kok	12,698	71.92	5.17
	BS	Ng Seng Chua	4,958	28.08	N/A
Majority			7,740	43.84	10.34
Total valid votes			17,656	97.56	0.38
Rejected ballots			441	2.44	0.38
Turnout			18,097	95.89	2.51
Registered electors			18,872		24.04
	PAP hold		Swing	5.17

Elections in 1980s

General Election 1980^[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Liew Kok Pun	11,917	68.14	3.78
	BS	Lee Siew Choh	5,571	31.86	3.78
Majority			6,346	36.28	7.56
Total valid votes			17,488	97.86	0.30
Rejected ballots			383	2.14	0.30
Turnout			17,871	95.54	0.35
Registered electors			18,705		0.88
	PAP hold		Swing	3.78

General Election 1984^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Ho Tat Kin	10,224	56.16	11.98
	BS	Lee Siew Choh	7,982	43.84	11.98
Majority			2,242	12.32	23.96
Total valid votes			18,206	97.83	0.03
Rejected ballots			404	2.17	0.03
Turnout			18,610	95.48	0.06
Registered electors			19,490		4.2
	PAP hold		Swing	11.98

References

1. "13 GRCs for next general election". The Straits Times. 15 June 1988. p. 1. Retrieved 13 March 2025 – via NewspaperSG.
2. "ELD | 1972 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
3. "The way to the top —how six new MPs went up the ladder". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-02-26 – via NewspaperSG.
4. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1976 > Boon Teck". www.singapore-elections.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
5. "Supermarts in Phey case" (PDF). New Nation. 11 December 1979.
6. "Ex-NTUC chairman and former MP Phey Yew Kok completes jail term: 6 things about the case". The Straits Times. 2015-06-24. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
7. Davidson, Ben (27 January 1980). "'Phey told us he couldn't bolt — he was under 24-hour watch'" (PDF). The Straits Times.
8. "Speaker revokes leave of absence granted to Phey". The Business Times. 27 February 1980. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
9. "Speaker: Phey to lose his seat if..." The Straits Times. 26 March 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-02-24 – via NewspaperSG.
10. "PHEY LOSES HIS SEAT". The Straits Times. 3 April 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-02-24 – via NewspaperSG.
11. "PHEY'S CONSTITUENCY: BY-ELECTION URGED". The Straits Times. 12 January 1980. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-02-24 – via NewspaperSG.
12. "Barisan to contest election". New Nation. 1 November 1980. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-24 – via NewspaperSG.
13. "ELD | 1972 Legislative Assembly General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg.
14. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1972 > Boon Teck". sg-elections.com. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
15. "ELD | 1976 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg.
16. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1976 > Boon Teck". sg-elections.com. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
17. "ELD | 1980 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg.
18. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1980 > Boon Teck". sg-elections.com. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
19. "ELD | 1984 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg.
20. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1984 > Boon Teck". sg-elections.com. Retrieved 2025-09-18.