One Month Jail for Man Who Attempted to Bribe ICA Officers

On 18 October 2024, Rakibul (“Rakibul”) (30-year-old male Bangladeshi national), was sentenced to 1 month imprisonment for corruptly offering bribes to two Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers.

2. Investigations revealed that on 2 October 2024, Rakibul arrived in Singapore on a flight from Bangladesh. Upon reaching the Automated Lanes at Changi Airport Terminal 2, Rakibul was stopped from entering Singapore by the ICA system. An officer escorted Rakibul to the ICA Duty Officer Room for further checks. Rakibul was then brought to a waiting room by ICA Checkpoint Inspector Muhammad Firdaus bin Ahmad (“Insp Firdaus”). As Insp Firdaus was bringing Rakibul to the waiting room, Rakibul passed him a piece of paper with the following message: “I give you 200 Singapore dollars inside the passport. Let me go to visit Singapore please”. Insp Firdaus then called ICA Assistant Superintendent Wong Wei Quan (“ASP Wong”) to the waiting room to assess the situation.

3. When ASP Wong attempted to clarify Rakibul’s intent in producing the paper, Rakibul offered S$200 in cash to ASP Wong as an inducement to be allowed entry into Singapore. The two ICA officers did not accept the bribe offers and the case was reported to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (“CPIB”). For his actions, Rakibul was charged in Court on 3 October 2024 for two corruption offences punishable under Section 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

4. Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. Any person convicted of a corruption offence under Section 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act can be fined up to S$100,000, or sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

5. CPIB looks into all corruption-related complaints and reports, including anonymous ones, and can be reached via the following channels:

a) Lodge an e-Complaint;
b) Email us at report@cpib.gov.sg; 
c) Call the Duty Officer at 1800-376-0000; or
d) Write to us at the CPIB Headquarters @ 2 Lengkok Bahru, S159047.

6. Where possible, the report should include the following information:

a) Where, when and how did the alleged corrupt act happen?
b) Who was involved and what were their roles?
c) What was the bribe given and the favour shown?

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau