It was third time unlucky for an Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) cheat who took the test on a friend's behalf.

Lee Rong Ci, 29, was caught when he took the test a third time for the friend. When confronted, Lee could not provide details on the man's identity card.

Lee, who works as a scheduler in a mining company, was fined $5,000 yesterday after he admitted to one of three charges of abetting Melvin Zheng Junlong, 29.

Lee had cheated by deceiving the conducting officer of the IPPT into believing he was Zheng, inducing the officer to conduct the test for him. The offence took place at Maju Camp in Maju Drive on July 16 last year. Two other similar charges were considered in sentencing.

The court heard that Zheng had approached Lee on July 14 to help him take the IPPT.

Zheng said he was busy with work and did not have time to go for remedial training. He was also not confident of passing the physical test.

Lee agreed to take the test.

Early on the day of the IPPT on July 16, Zheng sent Lee a WhatsApp message saying he had placed his identity card at the electrical box outside Lee's flat, which Lee subsequently retrieved. Lee went to the camp and used Zheng's IC to enter and register for the test.

Later, at the push-up station, a Certis Cisco fitness trainer checked Lee's IC and noticed he did not resemble the photo on the IC. He asked Lee for his identity card number and address but Lee could not reply.

Lee was allowed to continue with the test and left after passing it.

Zheng was dealt with separately by the Singapore Armed Forces and fined $5,000 for offences under the Singapore Armed Forces Act.

Lee's lawyer Amos Cai said in mitigation that his client did the IPPT as a favour for a friend and did not get any monetary profit in return. Lee could have been jailed for up to three years and/or fined for cheating.