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SINGAPORE (The Straits Times / ANN): An official with the Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) allegedly received bribes and sexual services from two foreign women, in exchange for helping them to stay in Singapore legally.
Teo Hwee Peng, 47, and the Chinese women Liang Qinglan, 37, and Cheng Wenjuan, 32, were indicted in court on Tuesday (November 24) for corruption.
Teo, a checkpoint inspector, faces 12 counts, while Liang and Cheng face nine and 18 counts respectively.
Cheng is also linked to a similar matter involving another 42-year-old Kelvin Lim Chee Wee from Singapore.
He faces 14 counts of corruptly receiving bribes and sexual services from Cheng.
Court documents indicate that Liang and Cheng allegedly provided sexual services and bribes to Teo in exchange for the officer’s help in having special passes issued to them.
A Special Pass, which legalizes a foreigner’s stay in Singapore, is issued for specific purposes, such as assistance in investigations, assistance to court, and for stateless persons residing here.
Special pass holders cannot work without a valid work pass.
Between 2018 and last year, Liang allegedly provided Teo with at least S $ 2,100 in cash, a red package containing 188.88 yuan ($ 39), and loans of approximately 7,000 yuan.
He also allegedly agreed to give her an Apple iPhone X.
Cheng is said to have corruptly provided Teo a massage with sexual services and offered him $ 1,500 in cash, at various times in July last year.
She also allegedly offered him another $ 500, which he declined.
On July 26 last year, Cheng allegedly offered Teo an unspecified sum of cash in exchange for information about someone else’s arrest status.
In the matters involving Lim, Cheng is accused of corruptly providing him with sexual services, as well as $ 7,000 and 1,000 yuan in cash, on various occasions between May and July 2019.
She had allegedly done so in exchange for her help in getting a so-called ICA official to arrange for her to receive a Special Pass.
Cheng is also said to have bribed Lim around $ 2,000 and 3,000 yuan to have a so-called ICA official arrange to issue a Special Pass to someone else.
According to a statement from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Office (CPIB), Lim had lied to him that he used to work at ICA and that he had friends in the immigration department who could arrange to have a Special Pass issued to him.
But he had never worked at ICA and was in fact the manager of a motor vehicle workshop at the time, CPIB said.
On Tuesday, the court heard that Teo, Liang and Cheng will contest their respective charges, while Lim will consult his lawyer before making a decision.
The four people are expected to return to court on December 17.
For each charge of corruption, offenders can be jailed for up to five years or fined up to $ 100,000, or both. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network
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