5 Chinese nationals allegedly planned to get caught for bribing officials to extend stay in S’pore & sell sex drugs

5 Chinese nationals were charged in court on Jul. 18 for scheming to prolong their stay in Singapore in order to sell illegal sex enhancement medications.

According to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), as reported in The Straits Times, the accused persons allegedly planned to get arrested for offering bribes to enforcement officers so that they would be able to obtain Special Passes and get bailed out.

A Special Pass legalises a foreigner's stay in Singapore and is often issued for specific purposes such as assisting in investigations or attending court.

The accused persons allegedly planned to sell illegal sex drugs while out on bail.

ST reported that the scheme is believed to have been orchestrated by a Singaporean drug abuser who has since been arrested, and is currently under investigation by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).

All 5 foreigners charged for corruption

On Jul. 18, all five accused persons were charged for corruption in court.

According to court documents, Lin Liangjun, 32, was handed four charges for allegedly offering at least S$160 in bribes to four police officers, in a bid to get them to refrain from taking further enforcement actions against him after he was involved in a traffic accident on Jun. 24.

Xiao Xiezhi, 43, was handed three charges for allegedly offering bribes of S$100 and S$150 to three National Environment Agency (NEA) officers after he was being caught smoking at a bus stop near People's Park Complex on Jan. 22.

Huang Chuangshun, 40, was handed two charges for allegedly offering bribes of S$50 to two NEA officers respectively after being caught smoking in a non-designated smoking area in Orchard on Jun. 23.

Xu Bixin, 31, was handed one charge for allegedly offering a bribe of S$70 to a police officer to refrain from conducting identity checks on him on May 3.

ST reported that Xu Zhishen, 37, was handed two charges for allegedly offering a bribe of S$119 to two police officers near Sri Mariamman Temple at South Bridge Road on Apr. 27.

None of the officers accepted the bribes.

Investigations by CPIB revealed that the accused persons had allegedly paid their bailors to facilitate their bail and bail extensions, as reported in ST.

Xiao brought back to the scene

According to ST, on Jul. 17, Xiao was brought back to Geylang Lorong 20, where he had allegedly handed money to bailors outside the New Cathay Hotel.

Investigations into the scheme are still ongoing.

Not granted bail

ST reported that the prosecutor had told the court that the accused persons should be denied bail as they had committed offences when they were out on bail previously.

The prosecutor further added that the accused persons had previously paid their bailors to stand as bailors for them, raising concerns about the risk of collusion and the likelihood of them committing further offences.

"If the accused persons are released on bail, there is a real risk of collusion, not just amongst themselves, but with other individuals who are currently being investigated."

The accused persons have been remanded without bail.

Their cases will be heard again on Aug. 1.

If convicted, the accused persons can be jailed for up to five years or fined up to S$100,000, or both.

Top photo via Google Maps/Sebastian Mangalan