Two Indian nationals were charged on Thursday (18 Sept) with bribing an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer with sexual favours.
Arya Monu, 29, and Bharat, 22, each face one charge of corruption, a press release by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) stated.
The pair allegedly gave favours to ICA inspector Kannan Morice Rajagopal Jayaram in exchange for his help with their short-term visit pass applications.
Source: Singapore Translators website. For illustration purposes only.
According to CPIB, the alleged offences happened in Dec 2022 and Feb 2023, for Monu and Bharat respectively.
The bribes were “intended as an inducement” for Kanan to help the accused with their short-term visit pass applications.
If convicted, both men could be jailed for up to five years, fined as much as S$100,000, or face both punishments.
In court, Arya said he would plead guilty and not engage a lawyer, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported. His case has been fixed for a plead guilty mention on 30 Oct.
Bharat, who appeared via video link, rejected the allegation. When asked if he intended to plead guilty, he replied that he “didn’t do wrong.”
His case will proceed to a pre-trial conference on 2 Oct.
Kannan, the ICA officer involved, was sentenced to 22 months’ jail last Thursday (11 Sept). He admitted to receiving sexual favours from six foreigners in exchange for approving their visit pass extensions.
Court documents showed that between 2022 and 2023, he abused his position as team leader of ICA’s Visit Pass Unit, which handled foreign nationals’ applications to extend their stay in Singapore.
Kannan had previously received the Long Service Medal in the 2019 National Day Awards.
Source: Prime Minister’s Office Singapore website
ICA has since interdicted him from service and will begin disciplinary proceedings following his conviction in July, CNA said.
Also read: 5 foreigners purposely offer bribes to S’pore officers to get arrested, charged & denied bail
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and by MS News.