Former SAF sergeant major jailed for corruption

SINGAPORE - A former Singapore Armed Forces staff sergeant was sentenced to two months' jail and fined $800 after he pleaded guilty to corruption.

Mohammad Yani Saharawee, 33, then attached to the Safti Military Institute, accepted $800 from Mr Eng Ah Guan for helping his son, full-time national serviceman (NSF) Eng Boon Wei, convert his army driving permit to a civilian driving licence, The Straits Times reported on its website on Monday.

A district court heard that in mid-2011, NSF Eng, 22, who was working as a driver, wanted to drive more and clock enough mileage for the conversion.

Yani, a fleet sergeant major, told NSF Eng he could help him clock the mileage without the latter having to drive.

NSF Eng then agreed to give him $800 for his help, and his father later made the payment.

The younger Mr Eng has been given a stern warning.

A former Singapore Armed Forces staff sergeant was jailed for two months and ordered to pay a penalty of $800 on Monday for corruption.

Mohammad Yani Saharawee, 33, then attached to Safti Military Institute, pleaded guilty to accepting $800 from Mr Eng Ah Guan as a reward to help his son, full-time national servicesman (NSF) Eng Boon Wei, to qualify for converting his army driving permit to a civilian driving licence.

A district court heard that Yani was a fleet sergeant major in charge of overseeing drivers, storemen, clerks, transport leaders, NSF and regulars to ensure that they carried out their responsibilities given by their transport leaders.

Sometime in August/September 2011, NSF Eng, 22, who was working as a driver, informed Yani that he wanted to drive more so that he could clock enough mileage to enable him to convert his licence from an army driving permit to a civilian driving licence.

To do so, an SAF driver would have to clock 7,000km without major accident.

In NSF Eng's case, he had only accumulated about half that mileage.

Yani told the NSF that he could help him clock mileage without him having to drive. NSF Eng agreed that he would give him $800 for his help.

But when NSF Eng received his civilian driving licence in February last year, he did not pay Yani and ignored his calls.

Yani then contacted the NSF's father, Mr Eng Ah Guan, saying his son owed him $800. Mr Eng eventually transferred the amount on behalf of his son to Yani's POSB account.

The younger Eng had been given a stern warning.

Yani, unemployed, could have been fined up to $100,000 and/or jailed for up to five years. 

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