SINGAPORE — A Station Inspector with the Singapore Police Force's (SPF) Secret Societies Branch (SSB) was in debt when he repeatedly helped two men evade arrest and received $32,500 in bribes from the pair.
On Aug 16, Poo Tze Chiang, 47, who was suspended in December 2020, was sentenced to six years and six months' jail and ordered to pay a penalty of $32,500.
He will spend an additional 14 weeks behind bars if he is unable to pay the amount.
Poo was convicted of seven graft charges and three counts of obstructing the course of justice, after a trial.
Deputy public prosecutors David Menon and Bryan Wong stated in court documents that over the course of a year, Poo received the bribes from Cordell Chan and Wang Huate.
Court documents did not disclose if Chan will be or has been charged in court. Meanwhile, Wang, then 41, walked free after his charges were withdrawn following a stern warning. He was given a discharge amounting to an acquittal on April 9. This means he cannot be charged again with the same offences.
In September 2023, a fourth man identified as Ng Chuan Seng, then 52, was sentenced to five weeks' jail after he pleaded guilty to an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The DPPs said in their submissions that Chan and Wang were with some friends at an Orchard Road nightspot in the wee hours of Sept 14, 2019, when they got into an altercation with other patrons.
Police arrived at the scene and Wang was arrested shortly before 5am that day after drunkenly challenging an officer for arresting an associate, who was not named in court documents.
Wang was taken to Tanglin Police Division and released later that morning. Police did not arrest Chan.
The prosecution told the court that Wang then spoke to Chan, who decided to "find a solution" over the matter.
According to court documents, Chan sought help from Ng, also known as Daoni, who was an "elder" in a secret society.
At the time, Chan believed that Ng had "some connection" with members of the SPF, said the DPPs.
Ng then told Chan and Wang to meet him at a Geylang KTV club which Ng owned.
When Chan and Wang arrived at the club later that month, Ng introduced them to Poo, who was with his friends in a private room.
The DPPs said: "At some point, Daoni gave Cordell and Huate a red packet and instructed them to put $2,000 in it, to be given to (Poo). Cordell and Huate placed (the amount) into the red packet and passed it to Daoni.
"Huate and Cordell testified they agreed to give (Poo) the red packet containing $2,000, so the police investigation would be 'settled'."
Some time later, Chan told Poo about the Orchard Road fight. According to the DPPs, Poo told Chan not to worry and to stay out of trouble.
The prosecutors added: "Daoni passed the red packet containing $2,000 to the accused, who accepted it... This meeting opened the floodgates.
"Over the course of a year, the accused, who was perennially plagued by financial issues, exploited Cordell's and Huate's fear of being detained to extract numerous bribes from them.
"In exchange, the accused helped Cordell and Huate evade police action on three occasions."
The DPPs also said that on or around Nov 21, 2019, Poo approached Chan and asked him for a loan of $1,000. They added that Chan then transferred the amount to Poo's wife.
In February 2020, Wang was stopped at Woodlands Checkpoint before the SSB detained and questioned him.
Chan and Wang then contacted Poo as they feared imminent SSB action.
The prosecutors said that Poo asked for $20,000. According to court documents, Wang then handed the money to the police officer in exchange for his help.
The DPPs added: "On Aug 5, 2020, the accused twice helped Huate evade the police. First, in the morning, he tipped off Cordell that Huate would be detained...if he reported for bail that day.
"Second, that evening, he dissuaded two SPF officers from conducting a spot check on Cordell and Huate."
The court heard that the SBB later turned its attention to Chan, who sought Poo's help.
The DPPs said that Poo then told him that he needed to fork out $10,000 to resolve the matter.
The prosecution told the court that Chan successfully negotiated the amount down to $7,000 before he handed $5,000 to Poo on Aug 22, 2020. He gave the policeman another $2,000 during a subsequent meeting.
Poo also solicited and received two loans totalling $2,500 from Chan in August and September that year, said the DPPs.
On or around Nov 25, 2020, Chan parked his car in Bukit Batok and met Poo for a meal. Poo later noticed an unmarked car from the SSB parked nearby and alerted Chan, who fled from the scene.
Poo will be appealing against his conviction and sentence. He still has five pending charges linked to a separate case, and these will be dealt with at a later date.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
