A Chinese national who offered a $100 bribe to a condominium security guard not to register visitors to her rental flat was sentenced to three weeks' jail yesterday.

Jiang Jinxiang, 28, is appealing and bail of $15,000 was offered.

She admitted to offering $100 to Mr Azman Mohamad Ali, deployed at One Dusun Residences, on May 28 as an inducement for not registering visitors to the flat, where she and her roommate, known as Xiao Hui, had been conducting vice activities.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sanjiv Vaswani said that some time after midnight on May 28, Xiao Hui had a customer who was going to the flat but did not wish to register as a visitor, which would entail his name being recorded in a log book kept by the security guard.

To avoid this and to conceal her vice activities, Jiang decided to bribe the security guard on duty by offering him $100.

As she was unable to communicate well in English, she prepared a note on which she scribbled the unit number and "Don't Register Thanks".

Accompanied by Xiao Hui, Jiang approached Mr Azman and took out a $100 note from her handbag and the note, and placed them on the table.

Mr Azman refused the offer and also gestured with his hands, indicating his refusal.

But Jiang persisted and offered the guard the money again. He refused.

She then took the $100 note from the table and placed it inside a drawer. She tore up the note and threw it in the bin before leaving.

Mr Azman reported the matter to the estate manager, who advised him to make a police report.

In mitigation, Jiang said she did not know what she had done was against the law and that the offence was so serious.

She could have been fined up to $100,000 and/or jailed for up to five years.

Elena Chong