Corrupt ICA officer gets jail

Corrupt ICA officer gets jail

SINGAPORE - An Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) specialist who took and gave bribes to grant social visit passes to foreigners to enter Singapore was jailed for 21 months yesterday.

Mohammed Mustaffa Mohabat Ali (above), 29, admitted to 12 of 35 charges of corruption. He was ordered to pay a penalty of $8,050 or in default, sentenced to four weeks' jail, reported The Straits Times.

A district court heard that Mohammed Mustaffa, who was attached to Tuas checkpoint, met a Filipino woman at a pub in 2010. He helped her "extend'' her social visit pass for a fee.

Through the unidentified Filipina, he met a man who told him that he knew of foreigners who were willing to pay him for the pass. Mohammed Mustaffa charged between $250 and $450 per extension.

He also assisted foreigners who contacted him directly, charging them $300 to $500 for every pass extension.

A total of 33 foreigners, comprising females from the Philippines and Vietnam, participated in his scheme.

He engaged the services of four people to ferry the foreigners on a round trip between Singapore and Malaysia for a fee.

He also recruited four colleagues by instructing them to grant the foreigners a new pass for 30 days without carrying out the checks required by ICA.

The others have not been charged.

The maximum penalty for corruption is a $100,000 fine and five years' jail on each charge


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