Press Releases
No Shelter From Corruption
16 March 2020
A Singaporean man was jailed for trying to bribe an NEA officer to avoid a smoking fine. Corruption is a serious offence, carrying fines of up to $100,000 or jail of up to 5 years.
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Attempting to bribe one’s way out of trouble with the law will only lead to dire consequences.
2. On 16 March 2020, Wong Sin Wah (黄星华), a 61-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to 4 weeks’ imprisonment for corruption.
3. Investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) revealed that on 20 June 2019, two enforcement officers were conducting a routine patrol in Yishun when they spotted Wong smoking under a covered walkway. One of them, Gobinath Munusamy (“Munusamy”), an Enforcement Officer with the National Environment Agency (NEA), informed Wong that it was an offence to smoke under a sheltered walkway and asked him to produce his identification card. Wong complied and began asking Munusamy for leniency. While Munusamy was entering Wong’s particulars into a device to generate the Notice to Attend Court (NTAC) slip, Wong proceeded to offer him four $50 notes. The bribe was rejected by Munusamy and the matter was reported to the CPIB.
4. On 28 August 2019, Wong was charged in Court with one count of corruptly offering gratification of $200 to Munusamy to avoid being issued a NTAC slip for contravening a smoking offence, an offence punishable under section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.
5. The CPIB would like to commend NEA Officer Gobinath Munusamy for rejecting the bribe. Singapore adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. It is a serious offence to bribe or attempt to bribe public officers. Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to $100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to 5 years or to both.
Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau