Man jailed for bribing 9 police officers
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SINGAPORE: A man who ran an illegal gambling business was sentenced on Monday for bribing nine police officers, one of whom was in charge of the Secret Societies Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Fifty-five-year-old Chua Chin Hoe was jailed four and a half years and fined S$20,000, for his involvement.
Chua had committed 66 offences, including 62 counts of corruption.
He pleaded guilty to six counts of corruption and one count of contravening the Common Gaming Houses Act.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Christine Liu described Chua as a "colourful character".
The self-employed man operated a string of illegal gaming cafes across the country from the nineties to 2007.
He ran unlicensed jackpot outlets, where he would lease shop spaces and install illegal jackpot machines there.
When authorities started clamping down on illegal jackpot activities, he switched to internet cafes which offered illegal gambling services.
At the height of his operations, Chua operated 15 of such outlets daily.
More than S$237,000 of illegal proceeds were seized by authorities from Chua's eight bank accounts.
To distance himself from the operations, he made use of scapegoats to safeguard himself against enforcement raids.
He also bribed nine police officers to protect his gambling business.
They included Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mark Koh Kian Tiong, Staff Sergeant Steven Tan Chee Kwong, Staff Sergeant David Lim Kay Heng, Staff Sergeant Chong Soon Ping and Sergeant Teng Jing King.
Nearly half of them were attached to the CID's Secret Societies Branch.
The court heard that ASP Mark Koh is currently on the run and has since fled the country.
Chua had met some of the officers in 2003, and they started meeting up for drinking and KTV sessions, in what DPP Liu described as "strategic networking."
The officers were aware that Chua was involved in secret societies and illegal gambling outlets.
DPP Liu told the court that Chua began his "systematic bribing of police officers" from 2006.
Chua bribed them with amounts ranging from S$400 to S$15,000, in exchange for information on impending raids.
The officers also did not report any information on Chua's illegal gambling activities to the Secret Societies Branch.
While running his illegal gambling cafes, Chua also met Abdul Haleem Abdul Majeed, who was later hired to become a scapegoat.
Abdul Haleem received between S$800 and S$5,600 on more than 26 occasions over two years.
Chua also paid Abdul Haleem S$26,500 to assume criminal liability for six illegal outlets that were raided.
A 2007 raid at 303 Joo Chiat Road also found Chua to be operating online casino gambling services from an internet cafe.
DPP Liu told the court that Chua had "a well thought-out system to shield himself from liability from all sides."
District Judge Mr Low Wee Ping, in his sentencing, agreed with her and noted the "sophistication" of Chua's scheme and the "massive" number of charges.
The judge criticised Chua for corrupting the police officers and his total disregard for the consequences.
The judge also denounced the corrupted police officers, saying they were "a stain to Singapore's public service and the Singapore Police Force."
Court documents revealed that Chua, who suffers from major depression, has a history of similar offences dating all the way back to 1974.
The court also heard that the seized sum of S$237,000 will be forfeited to the state.
Chua's case is believed to be the biggest case of police bribery in recent years.
In 1999, loanshark Chua Tiong Tiong, better known as Ah Long San, was sentenced to 10 years' jail for bribing nine police officers.
He had entertained the police officers at nightclubs and paid them in exchange for information on his friends who were arrested.
- CNA/fa -
"un-corruptable singapore"
million dollar salary for police please
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SHould PAP MR TEO Account for this. Can he answer?
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Everywhere in the world needs them....
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9 is the magic number now. Soon.. it will be 12. LOL
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Ministers are paid excessively to prevent corruption.
Don't you think its time that those in the armed forces paid a little higher?
Reason: To prevent corruption!