Police officer who took bribes from repeat immigration offender found guilty
Poo Tze Chiang solicited S$36,000 in bribes from an immigration offender, but did not deliver on his promises.
Poo Tze Chiang (left) and Chen Guangyun arrive at the State Courts on Feb 28, 2025. (Photos: CNA/ Ili Nadhirah Mansor)
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SINGAPORE: A police officer previously sentenced to jail for corruption and obstructing the course of justice was on Friday (Feb 28) found guilty of more corruption charges.
Station Inspector Poo Tze Chiang, 47, was convicted of four charges of corruption following a trial. Poo is currently interdicted from the Singapore Police Force.
His current offences are for soliciting and obtaining S$36,000 (US$26,700) in bribes from a co-accused Chen Guangyun to help Chen avoid prosecution for immigration-related offences, to lessen the potential punishment Chen could face and let Chen remain in Singapore after his conviction for those offences.
Alongside him, Chen, 39, was also found guilty on four mirror charges for giving the bribes. The offences occurred between July 2019 and January 2020.
In its closing submissions, the prosecution said that Chen had sought Poo's help over immigration offences.
Chen, a Chinese national, entered Singapore on Oct 20, 2014 but illegally overstayed. On Jan 25, 2017, he was convicted of one charge of unlawful overstaying and one charge of reckless harbouring and sentenced to six months’ jail along with three strokes of the cane. Chen was deported on Jun 7, 2017, after he completed his sentence, and was banned from entering Singapore.
But Chen snuck back to Singapore by boat. He was arrested by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and charged in court for immigration-related offences on Jun 8, 2019.
Poo met Chen at a drinking session around 2019 and maintained a casual acquaintance thereafter. After the first meeting, Poo informed Chen that he was a police officer with the Criminal Investigation Department.
Chen later told Poo about his offence for entering Singapore illegally, and Poo replied that he could help with the case in exchange for money. Poo, who was in need of money, then continued obtaining more money from Chen. At one point, he claimed his "boss" wanted the money to make the immigration offences "go away".
Poo did not deliver on his promises and Chen was still convicted and deported from Singapore on May 4, 2020.
Even when Chen was in China, Poo contacted him to offer him help to return to Singapore. Chen arranged for a friend to pass Poo money, but there was no evidence to show that Poo had helped in any way.
In 2021, while Chen was still in China, he learned that Poo faced investigations for corruption. Chen contacted the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau to report his bribes to Poo. He confirmed in writing that he paid a total of S$36,000 to Poo in exchange for Poo’s assistance.
Still desperate to work in Singapore, Chen returned to Singapore illegally in September 2022. Around April 2023, Chen was arrested by the police for being involved in a fight.
He was referred to the immigration authorities for entering Singapore illegally again.
Both men had claimed trial but chose to remain silent when called on to take the stand. The prosecution argued that the court should draw an adverse inference from their choice to remain silent.
"Chen’s decision to claim trial and then remain silent is baffling," Deputy Public Prosecutors David Menon and Bryan Wong said.
"Poo and Chen’s astonishing failure to advance any semblance of a defence leaves the court with only one conclusion: their decision to claim trial served only to delay the inevitable."
They said the proper inference to draw from the duo's silence was their guilt.
In convicting both men, District Judge John Ng took into account how both had remained silent. He said the court had analysed the evidence and was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The cases of both men have been adjourned to Apr 3 for mitigation and sentencing.
Aside from the current conviction, both men still have pending charges that have not been dealt with.
Poo still faces a cheating charge, while Chen faces four charges related to his fighting and immigration offences.
In addition, Poo was previously sentenced in August 2024 to 78 months' jail and ordered to pay a penalty of S$32,500. The sentence was for shielding people from police action in exchange for bribes.
