Asia-Pacific News
Lorry driver jailed for bribing cop to extend foreigners' stays
Dec 20, 2007, 1:50 GMT
Singapore - A lorry driver was jailed for 18 months for bribing a police officer to extend the stays of 53 Chinese and Vietnamese women, news reports said Thursday.
Eric Au Choon Yong, 28, admitted to eight out of 28 counts of corruption, including five counts of paying 10,500 Singapore dollars (7,291 US dollars) to police staff sergeant Daniel Teo Guan Koon, 35, to secure the illegal extensions of passes.
Au also admitted receiving bribes of 5,440 Singapore dollars (3,777 US dollars) from seven of the women.
District Judge Liew Thiam Leng ordered Au to pay a penalty equivalent to the amount he received in bribes, The Straits Times said.
Anti-graft officials alleged that Au acted with Richard Dhassan Singh, who has not been charged. Teo is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for corruption.
Teo told Au in May 2006 that he could get extensions of special passes for foreigners, the court heard Wednesday. He wanted 500 Singapore dollars (347 US dollars) for each extension.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Diane Tan said that Teo could notify immigration authorities that the foreigners were witnesses required for a police investigation.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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