SINGAPORE - Two Royal Plaza Hotel staff who wanted money for referring guests to a transport company found themselves in trouble over claims of corruption.
Between October 2015 and June 2016, Malaysian Frankie Chan Li Fah, 33, corruptly obtained $3,869 from limousine driver Mubarak Shah P. Zaman Shah. Chan's colleague Mohamed Ibrahim Mohd Ya'acob, 63, took $1,507. They were paid a $7 or $10 fee for each referral.
On Friday (April 20), both men pleaded guilty to corruption. Chan, who was a guest services assistant manager at the hotel, received a fine and penalty totalling $7,289 for three counts of corruption.
If he is unable to pay, he will be jailed for three weeks and five days.
Ibrahim, who was the hotel's chief concierge, received a fine and penalty of $5,107 in total. He will be jailed for two weeks and two days if he does not pay up.
Both men's jobs included helping guests secure transport services.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jasmine Kaur said the ruse started with Chan telling Mr Mubarak to submit a transportation services proposal to the hotel. Chan did this some time between September and October 2015.
Chan said he would recommend Mr Mubarak's company - K.A. Shah Limo Services - to the hotel management to replace an existing transport provider.
But he would do this only if he was paid for referring guests to Mr Mubarak's company.
The fee paid was $7 for seven-seater vehicles and $10 for 13-seater vehicles.
A few days later, Ibrahim told Mr Mubarak that he had given good feedback about the limousine company to the hotel management. Ibrahim was paid the same fees as well.
Mr Mubarak agreed to the deal as he wanted to secure the contract with Royal Plaza Hotel.
K.A. Shah Limo Services subsequently secured the deal to provide transportation for guests of the hotel. Mr Mubarak then made monthly payments to both Chan and Ibrahim.
Chan's lawyer James Joseph said in mitigation: "As a result of these cases, (Chan) may be repatriated to Malaysia. He is a first offender, and he has pleaded guilty at the first opportunity."
Ibrahim, who was unrepresented, said he had cooperated with the authorities from the start and is remorseful.
