Ex-Changi Prison bakery workshop supervisor jailed for smuggling pills in for inmates

SINGAPORE: A former supervisor at a bakery workshop in Changi Prison teaching inmates to make pastries agreed to help four inmates smuggle pills into the compound in exchange for cash.

Calvin Ang Wei Sheng, 40, was sentenced to four weeks' jail on Thursday (Jan 12) and ordered to pay a penalty of S$1,200.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of corruptly receiving gratification in exchange for purchasing the Epam pills. Another three charges were considered in sentencing.

The court heard that Ang worked for New Hope Food Industries from March 2020 and taught inmates to make a variety of pastries at Changi Prison.

As civilian staff, he was granted access to the Changi Prison compound and was subject to stringent checks to ensure no one brought in contraband items such as mobile phones. 

While working in the workshop, Ang became friendly with an inmate, 56-year-old Ismail Musun Mollah. 

Around August or September 2021, Ismail asked Ang to help smuggle in 100 Epam pills into the workshop. Epam pills are generally used to treat insomnia and is considered a contraband item in the prison.

Ang agreed, as Ismail offered him S$200 to buy the pills and to keep the remainder.

Ang bought the pills in the Geylang area and smuggled them into the workshop, despite knowing they were contraband items.

Ismail then transferred S$200 to Ang via PayNow.

After this, word spread among the inmates and others approached Ang to smuggle Epam pills in. 

In total, Ang smuggled pills in for four inmates over five occasions, for S$1,200.

The smuggling was detected by prison authorities.

The prosecutor sought four to six weeks' jail. He said Ang was allowed access as part of his job, training inmates in vocational skills.

The amount of bribes, the number of inmates involved and the number of occasions of smuggling show Ang's deliberate and repeated nature of offending, said the prosecutor.

He asked for a penalty order to disgorge the bribes.

Ang was unrepresented. An interpreter told the court on his behalf that his family said he might not be good in expressing himself.

Ang has had lupus since he was a boy, affecting his brain development. He sees a psychiatrist often and was recently seen for depression and anxiety disorder, said the interpreter.

Through the interpreter, Ang asked for a chance to turn over a new leaf. He said he was sorry for what he did, regretted it and has learnt his lesson.

District Judge Janet Wang said the items smuggled "pose a potential health risk upon consumption",  and that Ang had abused the privilege accorded to him to work in a gazetted environment.

She noted that he did not initiate the entire enterprise, but said there was "a misplaced sense of camaraderie".

"Paradoxically, as a trainer at the workshop, he should be training the inmates positively, but (he) had led them astray," she said.

The inmates who bribed Ang were sentenced on Thursday afternoon. Irees Rahman, 50, Sidek Jamaludin, 43, and Muhammad Shaifullah Ab Latif, 37, received two weeks' jail each, while Ismail received three weeks' jail.