SINGAPORE: A man caught selling sexual enhancement medication in Geylang repeatedly tried to offer S$53 (US$41) in “kopi money” to two officers so that they would not investigate him over the illicit activity.
Chen Shaowei, who offered the bribe no fewer than seven times, said he was under the impression that – like officers from some other countries – these officers would “go away” once given the money to “drink coffee”.
Chen, a 39-year-old Chinese national, was sentenced to 14 weeks’ jail on Tuesday (Jun 3), after he pleaded guilty to one count of corruption and one count of using criminal force on a senior security officer who seized his sexual enhancement medication.
Another two charges of a similar nature were considered for his sentencing.
Chen was spotted beside a makeshift table with what appeared to be sexual enhancement medication on May 31, 2023.
The two officers who interacted with him then were Mr Mohammad Alfa Ramli, a technical specialist employed by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and Mr Chai Kit Wey, an Aetos Auxillary Police Officer attached to the HotSpots Operation Team of the HSA.
The two were partners were on an operation to disrupt the sale of illegal health products at Geylang that day.
Upon seeing Chen, Mr Alfa approached him and placed his hand on his shoulder.
Chen tried to flee but Mr Alfa patted him on the shoulders and told him to sit down.
As Chen could not speak English, Mr Alfa asked Mr Chai for help to obtain his particulars, but Chen refused to cooperate.
He tried to deny that the medication was his and dithered when asked when he had arrived in Singapore.
At one point, Chen took out S$53 in cash from his back pocket and offered it to Mr Chai. Mr Alfa pushed Chen’s arm away.
They warned Chen against bribery, but Chen persisted in offering the “kopi money”, even after he was placed under arrest.
“When the accused was later interviewed, he admitted that he had learned the word ‘kopi’ while in Malaysia and that he was under the impression that Mr Chai and Mr Alfa were like the officers in China and Malaysia – that is, that they would ‘let (him) go’ and ‘go away’ once he gives them money to ‘drink coffee’,” the prosecution said.
Chen admitted to offering both officers “money for kopi” so that they would stop asking him about his stay in Singapore and about the medication.
He was arrested and released on bail on Jun 1, 2023.
PUSHED OFFICER
About a year later, while on bail, Chen had another encounter with officers over sexual enhancement drugs.
On May 24, 2024, officers from the Certis CISCO Auxiliary Police Force seized the medication from a red container in Geylang after a tip-off from a owner of a nearby store.
At about 10.27pm, Chen approached the officers aggressively and tried to snatch the bag of medication. He shouted in Mandarin to ask why the officers were taking his drugs when he did not display them.
One of the officers tried to hold off Chen, who then pushed him in the chest and upper arms while trying to grab the bag.
He then shoved the officer holding the bag, grabbed the stash and fled. The incident was captured by a body-worn camera.
Chen was arrested the next day and released on bail.
Chen’s lawyer John Koh from Avalon Law Corporation sought three months’ jail for his client, less than the prosecution’s proposed four-month jail term.
Mr Koh said Chen had offered bribes in the “spur of the moment”. Similarly for his client’s charge of using criminal force, Mr Koh said the offence was in “the heat of the moment”.
Chen only shoved the officer as he was asking for his personal belongings, which were with the officers, said Mr Koh, who added that the officer was not injured.
