SINGAPORE: After being denied entry into Singapore at Changi Airport, a Bangladeshi man offered an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer S$200 (US$152) to let him through.
When another ICA officer was called to assess the situation, the man offered him S$200 too.
For his actions, Rakibul, 30, was sentenced to a month’s jail on Friday (Oct 18), the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a press release.
WHAT HAPPENED
On Oct 2, Rakibul arrived in Singapore on a flight from Bangladesh.
When he reached the automated lanes at Changi Airport Terminal 2, he was stopped from entering the country by ICA’s system, CPIB said.
Rakibul was escorted to the ICA duty officer room for further checks. He was then taken to a waiting room by ICA Checkpoint Inspector Muhammad Firdaus Ahmad.
Along the way, Rakibul handed INSP Firdaus a piece of paper with the message: “I give you 200 Singapore dollars inside the passport. Let me go to visit Singapore please.”
INSP Firdaus then called Assistant Superintendent Wong Wei Quan to the waiting room to assess the situation.
“When ASP Wong attempted to clarify Rakibul’s intent in producing the paper, Rakibul offered S$200 in cash to (him) as an inducement to be allowed entry into Singapore,” CPIB said.
The two ICA officers did not accept the bribe and reported the case to the CPIB. Rakibul was charged in court with corruption the next day.
“Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption,” CPIB warned.
Anyone convicted of corruption under Section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act can be fined up to S$100,000, jailed for up to five years, or both.
