Man jailed 3 weeks for bribing an LTA officer to not seize rental bicycle

FILE PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore
FILE PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore

SINGAPORE — A shipping executive was sentenced to three weeks’ jail on Friday (29 January) for attempting to bribe a Land Transport Authority (LTA) enforcement officer.

Wong Swee Liang, 58, was charged last year after he tried to offer $100 to LTA enforcement officer Ang Norris, so that the officer would not seize an oBike rental bicycle parked on his office premises.

Investigations revealed that on 21 December 2018, Wong was informed by his colleague that the rental bicycle was being taken away by two LTA enforcement officers, Ang and Abdul Hakim Abdul Hamid.

Wong approached the two officers and asked if he could purchase the bicycle from LTA. His request was turned down by both officers, and he was advised to approach LTA officially if he had other queries.

Wong then offered $50 to Ang, in an attempt to stop the officer from seizing the bicycle. Ang rejected the bribe, and warned Wong that his actions constituted attempted bribery.

Undaunted by the warning, Wong took out his wallet and offered Ang $100 instead. Ang rejected the bribe again, and the matter was subsequently referred to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

Those convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to $100,000 and/or jailed up to five years.

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