Woman charged with attempting to bribe police officer, assaulting two others and flouting COVID-19 regulations

SINGAPORE: A woman was charged in court on Thursday (Oct 7) after she allegedly tried to bribe a police officer, assaulted two other police officers and flouted COVID-19 regulations.

Chen Yuanyuan, a 28-year-old Chinese national, was also accused of threatening to injure a man while holding a kitchen knife, said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and Singapore Police Force in a joint statement. 

Two of the alleged offences occurred on Jan 8. On that day, authorities said she conducted herself in a manner “that caused annoyance to others in a public place” while drunk.

She also kicked the legs of two police officers on separate occasions to deter them from carrying out their duties. 

On Feb 24, she allegedly breached a COVID-19 control order by leaving her residence without reasonable excuse. 

And a day later, at an apartment on Pemimpin Drive, Chen was accused of trying to bribe a police officer with S$100, so that the officer would not take enforcement action against her. The officer rejected the bribe and the case was referred to CPIB. 

On the same day, she had allegedly breached COVID-19 regulations by gathering in a group of more than eight people outside of her place of residence.

In a separate incident, on Jun 21, the court heard that she threatened to injure a man by holding a kitchen knife and walking towards him with the intent to cause alarm, said authorities. 

“Singapore adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption and other criminal acts. It is a serious offence to offer bribes, or attempt to offer bribes to public officers,” the authorities added. 

Anyone convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000, jailed for up to five years, or both. 

If convicted of voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from discharging his duty, offenders may be jailed for up to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine, or caning.