A little coffee money

A little bit never hurt anyone – so the old saying goes… But it is not so when it comes to corruption. No amount of “coffee money”, no matter how small, will be overlooked.

2. The accused, Kalaiarasan Muniandy (“Kalaiarasan”), a 22 year-old Malaysian was employed by Certis Cisco Protection Services Pte Ltd as a Security Officer. He was attached to SMRT Corporation Ltd and deployed at the Paya Lebar MRT station. Part of his duty as a Transit Security Officer was to conduct bag checks on commuters.

3. On 20 February 2014, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) received information from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division alleging that a Certis Cisco guard had obtained “coffee money” from a domestic helper in return for a favour.

4. Subsequent investigations revealed that on 19 January 2014, Kalaiarasan had spotted Hasna, a domestic helper, consuming water at Paya Lebar MRT station. The accused informed Hasna that she would be issued with a summons of $300 for consuming water at a MRT station. He also recorded her particulars on a bag check list. However, Hasna was unable to pay the fine, and told him that she only had $10 with her. The accused then asked Hasna to place the $10 on his desk, which she did. She was allowed to leave after that. Subsequently, the accused blotted out Hasna’s particulars from the bag check list.

5. Kalaiarasan will be charged with one count of corruptly obtaining a gratification of $10 in return for a favour, an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241.

6. Kalaiarasan will be charged in court on 9 May 2014. The respective charge is attached.

7. Singapore has always adopted a zero tolerance approach towards corruption. The CPIB takes a serious view of any corrupt practices, and will not hesitate to take action against any party involved in such acts.

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau