Policeman, ex-cops face graft charges

Cases involve bribery and also Official Secrets Act offences

In two separate incidents, three policemen were caught giving out sensitive information and committing corruption-related offences.

In one of the cases, a senior staff sergeant was also allegedly induced to wrongfully arrest a man.

Yesterday, the three were among five people charged in court with corruption and offences under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). Two of the three policemen had left the Singapore Police Force prior to the court appearance.

The first incident allegedly involved Terence Lam Guo Long, 37, and 61-year-old dispatch driver Lim Sua Huat.

In October 2015, Lam, then a station inspector, allegedly showed Lim a set of photographs showing 13 people who had been arrested by his colleagues. Lam was not authorised to do this.

Lim then allegedly conspired with a man named Goh Siong Kiat to offer a $1,000 bribe to Lam so that he would be lenient to one of the arrested men, who was a suspect in a rioting case.

In December that year, Lim met Lam at Block 185D, Rivervale Crescent, and allegedly gave him a $500 bribe, a reward for showing him the first set of photographs.

Lam allegedly failed to arrest the dispatch driver after he was offered the bribe.

Instead, Lam allegedly sent him a second set of photographs via WhatsApp on Jan 19 last year showing five people involved in a rioting case. That same day, Lim allegedly gave Lam another $500 as a reward.

Lim then allegedly later shared the second set of photographs with another man.

Separately, Lim allegedly received a bribe of $3,000 from Goh on March 9 last year, after Lim claimed he had influenced a case involving an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority investigation.

Yesterday, Lim was charged with three counts of offences under the OSA and four counts of corruption.

Lam was charged with two counts of offences under the OSA and three counts of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The second case allegedly involved businessman Yee Kok Siong, 32, Tan Bee Song, 40, and Shukor Warji, 46, who is currently a police senior staff sergeant. Tan was also a senior staff sergeant at the time of the offence.

After Shukor learnt that his colleagues had arrested a man known as Ng Kok Tiong, he allegedly told Tan about it on May 29, 2015. He was not authorised to do this.

The next day, Tan allegedly told Goh about Ng's arrest.

Court papers did not mention why Ng was arrested.

In July last year, Yee allegedly offered Tan a bribe of $4,000 at Ang Mo Kio Central to have a man known as Hoon Tian Jie wrongfully arrested.

After accepting the bribe, Tan allegedly offered $2,000 to Shukor on July 31 last year to wrongfully arrest Mr Hoon. Court documents did not say if Mr Hoon was arrested.

Shukor is accused of failing to arrest Tan after he made the offer.

Yesterday, Tan was charged with two counts each of corruption and offences under the OSA while Yee faces one corruption charge.

Shukor, who has been interdicted from service, was charged with one count each of an OSA-related offence and an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

All five suspects were offered bail of $15,000 each and they will be back in court on July 6.

Those convicted of corruption can be jailed for up to five years and fined up to $100,000 for each charge. Those convicted of offences under the OSA can be jailed up to two years and fined up to $2,000 for each charge.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 16, 2017, with the headline Policeman, ex-cops face graft charges. Subscribe