Singapore - A Singapore tycoon pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of illegally attempting to purchasing a kidney from a village on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Tang Wee Sung, executive director of the tony CT Tang Department store and owner of prime real estate, admitted arranging to pay middlemen 300,000 Singapore dollars (211,678 US dollars), and just 20,000 Singapore dollars to the donor, the Straits Times reported.

Tang also admitted falsely declaring the donor was his relative.

The charges carry a three-year prison sentence, plus a fine for false declaration.

The retail magnate said he did it because he was desperately sick and had no recourse due the lack of preventative medicine to survive.

Two Indonesians were jailed and fined in July for their roles in the case.

Singapore Health Minister Khaw Boon Tan said he would investigate villages that allegedly harvest kidneys for organ transplants in the Philippines.

He also called for a donor registry to monitor cases and protect the welfare of the donors and their families.

"These are the most wonderful people on earth and I think society ought to find ways and means to protect their interests and that of their families," the Straits Times reported. (dpa)