The court has granted the director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) — who is facing charges of misusing diplomatic bags — permission to visit Japan.
44-year-old Gilbert Oh Hin Kwan allegedly used the diplomatic bag service to transport Panadol and luxury watches for personal reasons.
He also lied to the MFA about these incidents.
Oh’s upcoming trip to Tokyo will take place from 28 Jan to 20 Feb.
Court documents stated that he will be discussing potential property acquisitions and visiting his elderly pottery master and his partner’s family while he is there.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Oh was charged on 23 Nov 2023 for using diplomatic bags to transport Panadol and luxury watches.
Diplomatic bags are meant for official use and cannot be opened or detained.
Source: Bhutan Times on Facebook
The MFA director-general faces the following charges:
In December 2022, he allegedly sent Panadol from Singapore to China in a diplomatic bag.
The MFA was under the impression that the medication was for his MFA colleague, Dion Loke Cheng Wang, in Beijing.
However, the paracetamol pills were for Oh’s personal acquaintance instead.
On 12 Jan 2023, Oh purportedly used the diplomatic bag service again, this time to transport luxury watches from China to Singapore.
He did not disclose that the package belonged to and was intended for somebody else instead of the colleague.
Oh then reportedly lied to then-MFA Deputy Secretary Ong Eng Chuan a week later about the package containing the luxury watches.
The same MFA colleague carried the package into Singapore on 17 Jan 2023. At the time, Oh had claimed the watches belonged to his father.
On Thursday (25 Jan), the court granted Oh permission to visit Tokyo for leisure from 28 Jan to 20 Feb, reported CNA.
While there, he intends to “explore and negotiate the possible sale and/or purchase of property in Tokyo,” court records stated.
He will also visit his pottery master, who is “of old age and remains frail”.
Source: Earl Wilcox on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only.
On top of that, he will be visiting his partner’s family.
The judge permitted the trip on these conditions:
The court will next hear his case on 22 Feb.
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Featured image adapted from Bhutan Times on Facebook and Wikimedia Commons.
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