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SINGAPORE: A senior immigration officer was charged in court on Thursday with accepting S$1,550 in bribes.
54-year-old Mah Chin Phock faced eight charges of taking bribes in the form of cash and loans, between June and November 2007. He was a Senior Immigration and Checkpoints Specialist when he accepted the bribes from a coffee shop owner, Chia Ngee Seng.
Chia had provided "U-turn" services to female Chinese nationals entering Singapore via the Woodlands checkpoint. These foreign women would go to Malaysia for a short period and return to Singapore to get their social visit passes extended.
Chia had sought the assistance of Mah to facilitate the entry of these Chinese nationals by conducting less stringent checks on them. In return, Chia had given Mah bribes, with amounts varying from S$100 to S$500, on eight occasions.
Chia also bribed Mah's supervisor, Matthew Goh, with 4D tickets. He did this in return for Goh to turn a blind eye on his colleague's illegal activities.
Goh was sentenced to six months' jail in March this year, and Chia was sentenced to ten months' imprisonment on October 22.
If convicted, Mah could be jailed for up to five years or fined up to S$100,000, or both.
- CNA/sc
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