Woman fined $1,800 for acting as tour guide without proper licence

SINGAPORE - A woman was fined $1,800 on Wednesday (Dec 9) for acting as a tourist guide without a valid tourist guide licence.

On June 23, 2014, Su Sooi Hong was caught by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) officers showing a tourist group around at the Merlion Park.

According to STB, she admitted that she was covering the tour guide duties of her elder sister, Su Siew Peng, who had received payment from her.

The latter was convicted on Nov 4 for abetting an unlicensed tourist guide, and fined $1,800. Two other similar charges were also taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing.

In a statement released on Wednesday, STB said that "all tourist guides providing guiding services in Singapore are required to obtain tour guide licences issued by STB".

Unlicensed tour guides face fines of up to $5,000. Repeat offenders may be fined a maximum amount of $10,000.

stephluo@sph.com.sg