Man who posed as former ICA officer jailed for getting sexual favours, bribes

SINGAPORE: A man pretended to be a former immigration officer in order to obtain sexual favours and bribes from a masseuse who wanted help securing a Special Pass.

Singaporean Kelvin Lim Chee Wee, 44, was on Thursday (Mar 24) sentenced to 23 weeks in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of corruption. He was also fined S$6,500 for operating an unlicensed massage establishment.

Lim became a regular customer of the masseuse, Chinese national Cheng Wenjuan, in March 2019.

It was reported that Ms Cheng died in August last year while facing corruption charges and charges under the Women's Charter, which have since been abated.

She was linked to another case of corruption involving an actual Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer, Teo Hwee Peng, who is claiming trial.

The court heard that on May 11, 2019, Ms Cheng told Lim that she had been arrested for vice-related offences and believed she would soon be repatriated.

Lim told her that he used to work for ICA, had friends who were still working there and would be able to help her obtain a Special Pass. According to court documents, none of this was true.

After this, Lim and Ms Cheng had sex for the first time. Unlike previous occasions, when he had paid her for massages and sexual favours, he did not offer to pay her.

Ms Cheng also did not ask for payment because she believed Lim would help her with her immigration status.

Later, Lim told Ms Cheng that it would cost S$5,000 to pay an ICA officer to secure her Special Pass. When Ms Cheng said she only wanted to give the money after the pass was issued, he told her the officer wanted it before assisting her. He collected S$3,000 from her later that month.

On May 28, 2019, Lim went to Ms Cheng's home and had sex with her there. Again, no payment was offered or asked for.

At this meeting, Ms Cheng told Lim that "she wanted to be arrested in mid-July" as part of the plan to secure her Special Pass.

Lim said he could arrange this, but the cost would increase to S$15,000. He also told her he needed even more money to arrange suitable accommodation for her arrest.

The growing costs angered Ms Cheng, who told Lim to pay her for the sexual services he had previously not paid for. Lim then threatened to stop helping her with her Special Pass, and she relented.

Lim ultimately told Ms Cheng she could pay him S$8,000 and she agreed. On Jun 10, 2019, he went to her home and collected S$2,000.

"In truth, he had provided her with no assistance at all," stated court documents. Lim did not use the money he received from Ms Cheng to pay any ICA officer, instead spending it on his personal expenses and debts.

His offences continued when, on Jul 14, 2019, Ms Cheng asked him if he could help after her friend was arrested for vice-related offences.

Lim said he would need S$2,000 for his friend in ICA to help secure another Special Pass. Ms Cheng gave him the money.

When Ms Cheng later learned that her friend had been released on the same night of her arrest without Lim's intervention, she grew angry and asked him to return the money. Lim lied that the money had been paid to his friend, who would not make a refund.

On Thursday, Lim also admitted to operating Marrie Bella Massage, an unlicensed massage establishment that was raided in November 2020.

A customer informed the police that he had visited the shop twice prior and was provided sexual services on both occasions.

Deputy Public Prosecutor David Menon said Lim's actions brought the ICA into disrepute and could have led to a loss of confidence in Singapore's public administration by suggesting that the authority was susceptible to corruption.

He added that Lim's conduct ensnared him in a broader web of corruption resulting in media coverage that tarnished ICA's reputation.

Mr Menon also argued that Lim's threat to Ms Cheng on May 28, 2019, which was in order to secure personal benefit, warranted a longer jail term.

In mitigation, defence lawyer Paul Loy said that Lim had voluntarily made full restitution of the money to Ms Cheng months before any criminal charges were filed against him.

He argued that the public interest was not a consideration, as Lim did not know any ICA officers and never had any actual intention of bribing an ICA officer.

He also said that media publicity was not unexpected for criminal cases, and that the publicity in this case was focused on the related case involving a real ICA officer.

Mr Loy also disagreed on the weight that should be placed on Lim's threat to Ms Cheng, arguing that it was not egregious to threaten to refuse to do something wrongful.

The prosecution responded that Lim's restitution of the money should not be taken as an expression of remorse as it was made after investigations had started, when Lim was "worn down" by Ms Cheng's efforts to demand repayment.