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International Business Times
a day ago
- International Business Times
Chinese National Jailed in Singapore for Offering S$50 Bribe to ICA Officer After Being Caught with Contraband Cigarettes
A 29-year-old student as sentenced to four weeks' jail on Friday, May 30, after she pleaded guilty to offering bribe of least $50 to an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer. This comes after the Singapore-based foreign student was caught with contraband cigarettes at the Woodlands Checkpoint and tried to get off the hook by offering a bribe to the ICA officer. The officer did not take the money that Chinese national Sun Song had offered her, and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was informed following the incident. She has since paid a $650 fine for failing to declare the smokes she disposed of. According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Pei Wei, Sun had traveled from Malaysia and was in a private-hire vehicle at the Woodlands Checkpoint when two ICA officers halted it for a regular search at 6.40pm on November 23, 2024. Sun was sitting in the rear passenger seat when one of the officers, Sergeant (2) Nurliana Mohamad Sufian, noticed a white plastic bag with smokes near her. Sun did not respond verbally when asked if she had anything to declare, so ICA officers directed the driver to the side of the road. Sun slipped the white plastic bag into the car boot via the passenger seats. Sgt Nurliana requested that the car boot be opened, and she discovered that the plastic bag contained ten packets of cigarettes. When questioned, the driver denied having these things, according to court records. Sgt Nurliana then turned her attention to Sun, who begged "please" and "help me" in English while rubbing her palms together. DPP Tan said, as quoted by The Straits Times, "The accused then said 'I give you money', took out not less than $50 in cash from her purse and proffered it to Sgt Nurliana. The accused did this as she was worried about being arrested and wanted Sgt Nurliana to let her off." "The driver immediately grabbed the accused's arm upon seeing this. Sgt Nurliana also warned the accused that she had a body-worn camera (and) the accused did not persist," Tan added. The ICA reported the incident to the police at 7 p.m. that day, and the case was later submitted to the CPIB, who arrested Sun on December 10, 2024. Pleading for leniency, defense lawyer Foo Ho Chew told the court that his client is remorseful, adding: "While the form of gratification offered is of low value, a mere $50 in cash, she now realizes the significance and severity of her actions." Foo also said that Sun had cooperated with the authorities during their investigation into the case.
New Paper
3 days ago
- New Paper
Woman jailed for offering $50 bribe to ICA officer after being caught with contraband cigarettes
A Singapore-based foreign student, who was caught with contraband cigarettes at the Woodlands Checkpoint, tried to get off the hook by offering a bribe of least $50 to an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer. The officer did not take the money that Chinese national Sun Song had offered her, and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was alerted soon after. On May 30, the 29-year-old offender was sentenced to four weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to offering the bribe. She has since paid a composition of $650 for failing to declare the cigarettes which have been disposed of. Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Pei Wei said that Sun had travelled from Malaysia and was at the Woodlands Checkpoint in a private hire vehicle when two ICA officers stopped it for a routine search at around 6.40pm on Nov 23, 2024. Sun was sitting on the rear passenger seat when one of the officers, Sergeant (2) Nurliana Mohamad Sufian spotted a white plastic bag containing cigarettes beside her. Sun did not give a verbal answer when asked if she had anything to declare and the ICA officers told the driver to drive to the side of the road. As he did so, Sun slipped the white plastic bag into the car boot through the passenger seats. Sgt Nurliana asked for the car boot to be opened, and she found that the plastic bag contained 10 packs of cigarettes. The driver denied owning these items when questioned, the court heard. Sgt Nurliana then turned her attention to Sun, who pleaded by saying "please" and "help me" in English while running her palms together. DPP Tan said: "The accused then said 'I give you money', took out not less than $50 in cash from her purse and proffered it to Sgt Nurliana. The accused did this as she was worried about being arrested and wanted Sgt Nurliana to let her off. "The driver immediately grabbed the accused's arm upon seeing this. Sgt Nurliana also warned the accused that she had a body-worn camera (and) the accused did not persist." ICA reported the matter to the police at around 7pm that day and the case was later referred to the CPIB, which arrested Sun on Dec 10, 2024. Pleading for leniency, defence lawyer Foo Ho Chew told the court that his client is remorseful, adding: "While the form gratification offered is of low value, a mere $50 in cash, she now realises the significance and severity of her actions." Mr Foo also said that Sun had cooperated with the authorities during their investigation into the case.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Woman jailed for offering $50 bribe to ICA officer after being caught with contraband cigarettes
Chinese national Sun Song was sentenced to four weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to offering the bribe. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG Woman jailed for offering $50 bribe to ICA officer after being caught with contraband cigarettes SINGAPORE – A Singapore-based foreign student, who was caught with contraband cigarettes at the Woodlands Checkpoint, tried to get off the hook by offering a bribe of least $50 to an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer. The officer did not take the money that Chinese national Sun Song had offered her, and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was alerted soon after. On May 30, the 29-year-old offender was sentenced to four weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to offering the bribe. She has since paid a composition of $650 for failing to declare the cigarettes which have been disposed of. Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Pei Wei said that Sun had travelled from Malaysia and was at the Woodlands Checkpoint in a private hire vehicle when two ICA officers stopped it for a routine search at around 6.40pm on Nov 23, 2024. Sun was sitting on the rear passenger seat when one of the officers, Sergeant (2) Nurliana Mohamad Sufian spotted a white plastic bag containing cigarettes beside her. Sun did not give a verbal answer when asked if she had anything to declare and the ICA officers told the driver to drive to the side of the road. As he did so, Sun slipped the white plastic bag into the car boot through the passenger seats. Sgt Nurliana asked for the car boot to be opened, and she found that the plastic bag contained 10 packs of cigarettes. The driver denied owning these items when questioned, the court heard. Sgt Nurliana then turned her attention to Sun, who pleaded by saying 'please' and 'help me' in English while running her palms together. DPP Tan said: 'The accused then said 'I give you money', took out not less than $50 in cash from her purse and proffered it to Sgt Nurliana. The accused did this as she was worried about being arrested and wanted Sgt Nurliana to let her off. 'The driver immediately grabbed the accused's arm upon seeing this. Sgt Nurliana also warned the accused that she had a body-worn camera (and) the accused did not persist.' ICA reported the matter to the police at around 7pm that day and the case was later referred to the CPIB, which arrested Sun on Dec 10, 2024. Pleading for leniency, defence lawyer Foo Ho Chew told the court that his client is remorseful, adding: 'While the form gratification offered is of low value, a mere $50 in cash, she now realises the significance and severity of her actions.' Mr Foo also said that Sun had cooperated with the authorities during their investigation into the case. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
Judge rejects AGC's request to strike out Indonesian's evidence containing allegations against CPIB
Indonesian Paulus Tannos, also known as Tjhin Thian Po, was arrested in Singapore on Jan 17. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM Judge rejects AGC's request to strike out Indonesian's evidence containing allegations against CPIB SINGAPORE - An application made by the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) to strike out portions of affidavits submitted in a fugitive Indonesian man's bail hearing was rejected by a district court judge on May 28. The affidavits were said to contain allegations against the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), but these details were not revealed in court. The Indonesian businessman, Paulus Tannos, was arrested on Jan 17 by CPIB over corruption allegations in Indonesia, where he had been on its fugitive list since Oct 19, 2021. On May 27 and 28, Deputy Senior State Counsel Sivakumar Ramasamy argued that the defence counsel representing Tannos had asked for permission to file an affidavit to tender facts in relation to his admission to Changi General Hospital (CGH) in May. Permission was granted for this, but Mr Sivakumar said the two affidavits submitted – one from Tannos and another from a lawyer named Paulus Sinatra Wijaya – were beyond the scope of what the court had allowed. Mr Sivakumar said parts of Tannos' own affidavit covered his past interaction with the Indonesian authorities and CPIB, replying to points made by a CPIB investigating officer on the issue of him being a flight risk. Mr Sivakumar said these were covered in an earlier bail hearing and legal arguments had been made on these issues. On May 28, Tannos' defence lawyer Bachoo Mohan Singh objected to the AGC's application. He said: 'I've never come across a scenario that when a man is fighting for his liberty, he is constrained from saying what he wishes to say.' Addressing District Judge Brenda Tan, Mr Singh added: 'I would not be doing my job if I were to ignore important issues and issues which I consider vital in my client's effort to seek liberty. 'However, we have no objection to (the AGC) filing anything in reply. In the interest of justice, it is only fair they have a say.' After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Tan rejected the AGC's application. She said: 'I'm inclined to leave the further affidavits in the application on record in the interest of justice and completeness and give the state a chance to respond to this.' Addressing Mr Singh, the judge added: 'To be fair, you have put in contents which you were not given permission to, so the state has a right of reply.' Separately, the judge referred to a CGH medical report that had been tendered earlier. She said she knows the senior consultant who signed off on the medical report and asked if the defence and the AGC had any issue with her being the judge for the bail hearing. Mr Singh said he had consulted his client, who had no issue with it. Mr Sivakumar also said he had no issue with this. At the conclusion of the hearing on May 28, Tannos again did not give consent to be extradited to Indonesia. Under the Extradition Act, fugitives can give consent to their extradition and waive extradition proceedings. Indonesia put in a formal extradition request for Tannos on Feb 24. The extradition treaty between Singapore and Indonesia took effect on March 21, 2024. It grants extradition for a list of offences, including corruption, money laundering and bribery, and can be retrospectively applied to crimes committed up to 18 years ago. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
AGC looks to strike out fugitive Indonesian's evidence containing allegations against CPIB
Indonesian Paulus Tannos, also known as Tjhin Thian Po, was arrested in Singapore on Jan 17. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM AGC looks to strike out fugitive Indonesian's evidence containing allegations against CPIB SINGAPORE – The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) wants to strike out portions of affidavits submitted in a fugitive Indonesian man's bail hearing said to contain allegations against the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). Paulus Tannos was arrested on Jan 17 by CPIB over corruption allegations in Indonesia, where he had been on its fugitive list since Oct 19, 2021. On May 27, Deputy Senior State Counsel Sivakumar Ramasamy told the court that defence counsel representing Tannos had on May 15 asked for permission to file an affidavit to tender facts in relation to his admission to Changi General Hospital (CGH) between May 2 and 9. After the court allowed this, two affidavits were submitted – one from Tannos and another from a lawyer named Paulus Sinatra Wijaya. Mr Sivakumar said these were beyond the scope of what the court had allowed. He said parts of Tannos' own affidavit cover his past interaction with the Indonesian authorities and CPIB, replying to points made by a CPIB investigating officer on the issue of him being a flight risk. Mr Sivakumar said these were covered in an earlier bail hearing and legal arguments had been made on these issues. He said there was no permission for the second affidavit, which also covered Tannos' interactions with Indonesian authorities and CPIB. Mr Sivakumar said the AGC was applying for this affidavit and portions of the other one to be struck out and disregarded. One of Tannos' lawyers, Mr Hamza Malik, said this was the first time the defence had been notified of the matter. He asked the court that the application be heard at the start of the bail hearing on May 28, so they could take Tannos' instructions. Mr Sivakumar said he brought this issue up on May 27 so that if the AGC 's application to strike out those parts were not allowed, then it would get permission to file a reply affidavit as Tannos' affidavits contained allegations against CPIB which had to be addressed. He did not specify what these allegations were. District Judge Brenda Tan said she would hear the application on May 28. Separately, the judge referred to a CGH medical report that had been tendered earlier. She said she knows the senior consultant who signed off the medical report and asked if the defence and the AGC had any issue with her being the judge for the bail hearing. While both parties said they had no issue with it, Mr Hamza asked if he could discuss this with Tannos. District Judge Tan agreed that the issue could be addressed on May 28. Tannos, also known as Tjhin Thian Po, was president and director of Sandipala Arthaputra, a technology company awarded a contract to produce part of the Indonesian government's electronic identification card, or e-KTP project. The graft scandal caused state losses of about 2.3 trillion rupiah (S$181.7 million). Tannos is believed to have been living in Singapore since 2012. He was arrested here after the Indonesian government made a provisional arrest request against him. As Tannos fights to be released on bail, a date has been set in June for his committal hearing, which would determine whether he should be extradited to face charges. At the hearing on May 27, he again refused to give consent for him to be extradited to Indonesia. Under the Extradition Act, fugitives can give consent to their extradition and waive extradition proceedings. Indonesia put in a formal extradition request for Tannos on Feb 24. The extradition treaty between Singapore and Indonesia took effect on March 21, 2024. It grants extradition for a list of offences, including corruption, money laundering and bribery, and can be retrospectively applied to crimes committed up to 18 years ago. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
