Jail for foreigner who performed sexual act before an ICA officer in bid to get favours
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Indian national Bharat was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Dec 1 after he pleaded guilty to a charge under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
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SINGAPORE - A man performed a sexual act in front of a male officer from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
Indian national Bharat, 22, who goes by only one name, later told investigators that he did not want to have sex with Kannan Morice Rajagopal Jayaram as he was not gay.
However, he gave in to some of Kannan’s requests as he wanted to build a good relationship with the then ICA officer, who had earlier helped another foreigner with his application to extend his STVP.
Bharat also knew that Kannan could help him if he encountered any issues with extending his own STVP in the future.
Bharat was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Dec 1 after he pleaded guilty to a charge under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
On Sept 11, Kannan, then 55, was sentenced to a year and 10 months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to three corruption charges
In earlier proceedings, the court heard that Kannan became a team leader at ICA’s Visit Pass Unit in 2018. He became an inspector at the agency three years later.
Deputy public prosecutors Benjamin Low and Bryan Wong stated in court documents that Bharat was 19 years old when he arrived in Singapore on Jan 22, 2023.
He came here as he wanted to study business and administration at the American Centre for Education in Singapore.
He first got to know Kannan when he accompanied a friend applying to extend his STVP to ICA’s headquarters in February 2023.
Bharat met Kannan at a walk-in counter where the older man was processing the friend’s application.
The DPPs said: “(Kannan) purposely brushed his hand over the accused’s hand gently and smiled at the accused.
“When the accused moved his hand back, Kannan moved his hand forward to gently touch the accused’s thumb and told the accused that they were friends.”
Later that month, Bharat again accompanied the friend to ICA’s headquarters and met Kannan, who asked for his number. The younger man complied.
Kannan later contacted Bharat, and they agreed to meet on Feb 18, 2023.
When the day arrived, Bharat and the friend met Kannan at a block of Housing Board flats near Kallang MRT station and the trio went to Kannan’s home.
Bharat and Kannan started talking about sexual matters when the friend stepped out to smoke.
The pair later went to Kannan’s bedroom and Bharat performed a sexual act while the older man watched.
However, Bharat left the room when Kannan told him to remove his trousers.
The DPPs said: “Kannan followed the accused to the living room and said he was not happy as the accused did not do what Kannan had asked of him.
“Thereafter, the accused told Kannan that he needed to go home and left Kannan’s residence.”
Court documents stated that Bharat later was issued with a student pass, which was valid until Aug 8, 2023.
The American Centre for Education later applied for an extension of his stay in Singapore from then until Sept 7 that year.
On Sept 8, 2023, Bharat was issued a work permit which was valid until March 7, 2024. Court documents did not disclose the reasons for his obtaining the permit.
Court documents also did not state how Kannan’s offences came to light, but he was charged in court in 2023.
Officers of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau arrested Bharat in September 2025.
