Charged with 21 counts of corruptly receiving gratification, as well as 21 counts of forging police letters to cheat the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) into issuing special passes to 53 Vietnamese and mainland Chinese women.A POLICE officer from a specialised unit under the Criminal Investigation Department was charged in court yesterday with accepting a total of $26,500 for helping foreign women obtain special passes to extend their stay here.Daniel Teo Guan Koon (picture) — a senior staff sergeant of the Special Investigations Section, which probes serious crimes like murder — was charged with 21 counts of corruptly receiving gratification, as well as 21 counts of forging police letters to cheat the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) into issuing special passes to 53 Vietnamese and mainland Chinese women.Investigations revealed that Teo, 35, befriended Eric Au Choon Yong and allegedly accepted money, between May and August last year, from the latter to deceive the ICA.A Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau spokesman said no charges have been preferred against Au yet.Teo, who was represented by a lawyer at the Subordinate Courts yesterday, did not enter a plea. He will return to court for a pre-trial conference on July 4.
(http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv116/reyestan/20090219200258_tprotator.jpg)Two traffic policemen have been charged on Thursday with conduct prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the police force.Aziz Osman, 49, is on 10 charges of prejudicial conduct. In one charge, he is accused of deploying five traffic policemen to form a wedding convoy while on duty.The station inspector allegedly directed his subordinates to escort the regional manager of Pirelli Asia, Mr John Hooi Tuck Sung, to the Botanic Gardens for his wedding ceremony, and then to falsify records on their patrol log sheets in 2004.A video, suspected to be that of the traffic police wedding convoy has been circulating on the Internet, according to Shin Min Daily.The 45-second clip shows uniformed men on motorcycles surrounding a couple on a large motorcycle. Dressed all in black, the couple ride into their outdoor wedding venue to applause.The men appear to be wearing uniforms similar to those of the traffic police, and turned on their sirens throughout the journey.If convicted, he can be fined up to $500 and/or jailed up to three months.Hashim Kamari, 48, is accused of corruptly accepting an $83 discount from Mr Lim Sun Kwang when he bought a Metzeler tyre in June 2004 in return for recommending his Traffic Police Department to buy tyres from JR Pte Ltd.As he is charged with corruption, he can be fined up to $100,000 and/or jailed up to five years.Both officers also allegedly went on a junket which included a free air ticket, meals and accommodation for a promotional event of Pirelli's tyres in Taiwan in April 2004.Hashim has been released on bail of $500 but his passport has been impounded.Their pre-trial conference will be held on March 12.
Jun 14, 20102 cops refuse bribesBy Lai Han-WeiTwo drivers were arrested over the weekend for attempting to bribe police officer Sergeant Mohammad Sufyan to look the other way for various offenses. -- PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCETWO drivers were arrested over the weekend for attempting to bribe police officers to look the other way for various offenses. Police said a 57-year-old driver was arrested for attempting to bribe a Traffic Police officer on Saturday. The driver, who was caught for using a handphone while driving and other traffic offences, had told police Sergeant Mohammad Sufyan, that he was willing to give cash in return for the officer to look the other way.The driver even wrote down his handphone number on a piece of paper and handed it over to Sergeant Sufyan, offering to meet the officer to pass him the money. Immediately, Sergeant Sufyan warned the driver that it was an offence to bribe a public servant. Undeterred, the driver made the offer again. He was promptly arrested. In a separate incident, a 45-year-old lorry driver was also arrested for trying to bribe a police officer on Sunday at about 12.30am. Police received a call informing them that a lorry driver appeared to have fainted in his vehicle along Pasir Ris Drive 1.When station inspector David Tan Boon Leong and his teammate arrived at the scene, a lorry passenger was seen coming out of the vehicle and trying to hail a taxi. The officers stopped him and carried out a check. Three packets of contraband cigarettes were found on him. The lorry driver was found in a semi-conscious state and smelling strongly of alcohol. A plastic bag containing a white powdery substance, believed to be a controlled drug, was also found.The driver was arrested for drink driving and possession and consumption of controlled drugs. His passenger was also detained for possession of contraband cigarettes and consumption of controlled drugs. The driver then told Inspector Tan that he was carrying a large amount of cash, and offered it to the officer in return for letting him off. He was arrested. Both cases have since been referred to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
"Jun 8, 2010How to steer clear of 'kopi money' trapI REFER to last Tuesday's report, ''Kopi money' risk', and wish to share more than 10 years of experience driving my Malaysian wife to her hometown.We travel on the North-South Highway via the Second Link two weekends a month. My experience is that 90 per cent of speed traps are not official operations - that is, no speeding tickets can be issued. They are typically informal set-ups focusing on stopping cars with Singapore licence plates.Drivers from Singapore have encouraged a burgeoning cottage industry by fishing out Malaysian currency every time they are stopped. Instead of scrapping plans to drive to Malaysia, we should abandon the temptation to bribe the police.Try this the next time you are stopped at a road block for speeding, illegal U-turns or whatever supposed reason:Officers on a genuine police operation issue tickets immediately. Call the bluff of those who linger and hint that you might want to 'settle on the spot' - for example, RM100 (S$43) instead of RM300 - or save yourself the trouble of paying the fine at some distant location. Ask for the ticket immediately.I no longer bother to argue that I was not speeding. Owing to the frequency of my visits to Malaysia, I regularly get stopped no matter what speed I might be doing. They invariably pretend to write down my details or simply wave me off.I have even overheard some policemen say in Malay to let me go and focus on others (who might pay).Over the years, I have not been issued tickets and have saved thousands simply by not bribing.For those who do receive tickets, you do not need to go out of your way to pay the fines. Counters are occasionally opened at the Malaysian Customs. All existing fines, including those from automated speed cameras, can be conveniently settled there.Naturally, those who want to give 'kopi money' at such or other operations are inviting arrest.Albert Tay"