Public Officers Rejecting Bribe Offers

Singapore enjoys a good international standing for having a clean and efficient civil service. While this is reflected by the low number of public servants being prosecuted for corruption offences, another evidence of the clean public sector is the significant number of public officers who take pride in discharging their duties and say "no" to bribes when put to the test.

Senior Statutory Board Employee Rejecting a $500,000 Bribe Offer In 2004, the Defence Science Technology Agency (DSTA) was engaged by the Ministry of Defence to assist in providing technical assessment in its bid to procure some military equipment. After a few rounds of evaluation, the prospective number of bidders dwindled to a few companies. It was at this stage that Eng Heng Chiaw, a would-be consultant to one of the potential suppliers, offered DSTA's Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Sin Boon Wah a sum of $500,000 in return for providing information on the prices offered by other suppliers. Based on his long-term acquaintance with Sin Boon Wah, Eng Heng Chiaw asked the former out for a meeting over lunch. During the lunch, Eng Heng Chiaw made the bribe offer of $500,000 to Sin. Sin rejected the offer and reported the matter. In 2005, Eng Heng Chiaw was charged in court for corruptly offering a gratification of $500,000 to Sin Boon Wah. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 56 days' imprisonment on 15 Apr 2005.

Law Enforcement Officers Rejecting Bribe Offers of Significant Amount In 2000, Staff Sergeant Somasundaram s/o Mookaiah, a Police Officer attached to Tanglin Police Division was offered a $100,000 bribe from one Quah Eng Hock, who was suspected of habouring illegal immigrants. Quah made the offer to Staff Sergeant Somasundaram (Soma) in a patrol car when he was escorted by the former to assist in searching for Quah Eng Hock's brother. Staff Sergeant Soma rejected the offer and immediately reported the matter. Quah subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a $25,000 fine, in default 6 months' imprisonment.

Illegal Immigrants Offering Bribes to Police Officers Illegal immigrants are arrested frequently by police officers. Many of these foreigners became illegal immigrants after staying beyond the permitted period, while others were smuggled into Singapore by syndicates who charged exorbitant rates. As many of these foreigners borrowed substantial sums of money to pay for their trip to Singapore, they would attempt to work illegally in Singapore as long as possible. When arrested, these foreigners may resort to desperate means, including bribing the police officers, in an attempt to get off the hook. In 2005, CPIB charged a total of 7 illegal immigrants for offering gratifications to police officers. The gratifications offered ranged for a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. These foreigners were each sentenced to imprisonment terms ranging from 3 to 4 months. They were also repatriated after serving their sentences. In all these cases, the police officers had rejected the bribes offered to them and duly executed their duties in apprehending the illegal immigrants.

Police Officers Rejecting Bribes in other Cases During an anti-mini turf club raid, police officers Staff Sergeant Soh Han Kok and Staff Sergeant Tang Chee Koon arrested one Yeo Cheng Liat, a freelance commission agent, whom they had overheard placing bets on his mobile phone. Shortly after the two police officers identified themselves, Yeo Cheng Liat offered $100 to the two police officers to let the matter rest. The two police officers rejected the bribe offer and arrested Yeo on the spot. Yeo was subsequently charged in court and sentenced to 42 days' imprisonment. In another case, 2 police officers, Sergeant Fong Kok Wai and Corporal Muhammad Ridhwan Bin Rahmat were offered a sum of $1,000 by an Indian national, Palaniappan Ramesh whom they had arrested for outraging the modesty of a 15-year-old girl. The two police officers rejected the bribe offer and reported the matter. The Indian national was charged in court for corruptly offering gratifications to the two police officers and was sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment on 12 Apr 2005.

Private Sector Employees Rejecting Bribe Offers

Private Sector Employee Rejecting a $50 Bribe Offer David s/o Panersalayan was a security officer working for China Construction Pte Ltd. In August 2005, David was on night duty when he spotted a foreign worker carrying a black bag around the construction site and heading for the exit. He proceeded to stop the foreign worker and conducted a spot check on him. When David found stolen cables on the foreigner, he whipped out a $50 note from his wallet and offered it to David. David rejected the bribe offer and lodged a police report.  The foreign worker was charged in court for corruptly offering gratifications to David, and sentenced to 42 days? imprisonment on 10 Oct 2005.