Four Checkpoint Officers Charged With Corruption

Four Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers who allegedly facilitated the granting of Visit Passes (VP) to assist foreigners in prolonging their stay in Singapore may now facilitate their own stay in prison. The four will face corruption charges.

2. The accused persons; Ezhar Bin Kamis, Lukmanulhakim Bin Samsun, Mohamed Nazrul Bin Noor Mohamed and Nor Hidayat Bin Mohamed Hussain; were attached to the Tuas Checkpoint, Singapore as ICA Specialists. Their duties included assessing whether foreigners meet entry requirements, and granting VP to visitors for a period of stay in Singapore. The 4 accused persons are no longer in service with ICA.

3. Investigations revealed that the accused persons were recruited by former ICA officer Mohammed Mustaffa Bin Mohabat Ali (Mustaffa) in his scheme to grant VP to foreign women to extend their stay in Singapore in return for monetary gains. The 4 accused persons facilitated and assisted in this illicit activity, and received gratifications of amounts between $50 to $100 for their part. For his role, Mustaffa was sentenced to a 21-month jail term on 9 December 2013 for receiving and giving bribes.

4. The 4 accused persons will be charged in Court on 9 January 2014. Ezhar Bin Kamis will be charged with one count of corruptly accepting gratification and one count of corruptly agreeing to accept gratification under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241. Lukmanulhakim Bin Samsun will be charged with one count of corruptly accepting gratification under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241. Mohamed Nazrul Bin Noor Mohamed will be charged with one count of corruptly agreeing to accept gratification and one count of corruptly accepting gratification under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241. Nor Hidayat Bin Mohamed Hussain will be charged with one count of corruptly accepting gratification under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241 and one count of abetting to corruptly accept gratification under Section 6(a) read with Section 29(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 241. The respective charges are attached for reference.

5. 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 corrupt practices.

Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau