A 42-year-old woman, Wong Xiping (transliteration), was sentenced to three weeks in jail in Singapore for attempting to bribe an auxiliary police officer at the Woodlands Checkpoint.
She pleaded guilty to violating the Prevention of Corruption Act in Singapore’s State Courts last Friday (15 Nov).
Incident at the Causeway
According to Lianhe ZaoBao, Wong, who frequently travels to Johor Bahru, drove her car into the bus and lorry lane at the Woodlands Checkpoint on 17 July.
Upon being stopped by an officer and instructed to make a U-turn back to the correct lane, Wong tried to bribe her way out of the situation.
She first offered an RM50 note from her bag, asking the officer to let her proceed.
When the officer refused and demanded her passport, Wong then added a S$50 note (~RM166.73) to the bribe attempt, insisting she needed to go to the hospital.
The officer firmly rejected her offer, warned her about the illegality of her actions, and reported the incident.
The entire exchange was captured on the officer’s body camera.
Wong was subsequently arrested at 11.30 am that morning.
Thought the officer was a Malaysian
The prosecution emphasized Wong’s two bribery attempts and requested a jail sentence of three to four weeks.
In her defense, Wong pleaded for leniency, citing emotional distress at the time of the incident due to personal issues with her husband.
According to AsiaOne, Wong explained in court that her poor English led her to misunderstand the situation. She believed the Malay auxiliary officer was a Malaysian authority requesting additional money, prompting her to offer the bribe a second time.
She also highlighted her responsibilities as a mother of four children, including an infant less than a year old.
Wong requested to begin her sentence on Monday (18 Nov), to arrange care for her children, a request the Singapore court granted.
