A China national has been sentenced to eight weeks’ jail in Singapore for trying to bribe three traffic police officers with $100 after he was suspected of drink-driving.
According to Zaobao, the 38 years old China national was about to fly back to China the next day to reunite with his family, but he was stopped in Geylang for driving after drinking that night.
To get himself off the hook, he tried to bribe three police officers with $100. Although his alcohol level did not exceed the limit, he was eventually arrested for trying to bribe the police.
The man, Han Shaolu pleaded not guilty to the charges of bribery. He argued during the trial that he was only trying to pay for the fine with the $100. However, the judge did not buy his story and convicted him anyway. He was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail on 18 July.
What happened
According to the report, the police received notification at around 11pm on 3 December 2019 that someone was driving under the influence of alcohol in the open-air parking lot at Geylang Lorong 31.
Two police officers were then deployed to the scene to investigate the matter and saw Han sitting in the car drunk when they arrived.
Han then took out two $50 notes and waved them in front of the two officers and tried to shove the money into their hands.
However, Han could only speak Chinese, but the two police officers did not understand Chinese. Hence, they called another officer to translate what Han was saying. That was when they realised that Han was trying to offer a bribe of $100.
Reportedly, Han told the police officers that “if $100 is not enough, he can increase it to $150”.
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An assistant superintendent later arrived at the scene to understand the situation. Han admitted to trying to bribe the police officers with $100 at the time but thought it was just a trivial matter and hoped that the matter could be resolved.
Han was warned that offering a bribe is considered a serious crime, even offering 20 cents is considered bribery. To which Han said that he was not trying to offer a bribe and that a bribe back in China would cost upwards of $1,000. Han insisted that the $100 was only “coffee money” and he tried to force the $100 into the hands of the assistant superintendent.
The police later performed a breath test on Han, which showed that he did not exceed the limit for alcohol, but he was eventually arrested for offering bribes.
Following the incident, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) issued a statement commending the integrity of the three officers for not accepting the bribe and for reporting the case to CPIB.
Han was charged in court for offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In case you don’t know, anyone who is convicted of a corruption offence can be jailed up to five years, fined up to $100,000, or both.
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