33 months' jail, fine for ICA officer who received sex, money from prostitute to help her get arrested
TODAY file photoTeo Hwee Peng, 49, was sentenced to a total of 33 weeks in jail and a fine of S$2,634 for helping a prostitute get arrested so that she could obtain a special pass to remain in Singapore while investigations were ongoing.Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok, and join our Telegram channel for the latest updates.
- Teo Hwee Peng, 49, was sentenced to a total of 33 months in jail and a fine of S$2,634
- He was convicted of eight corruption charges in May
- In exchange for sex and money, Teo helped Liang Qinglan to get arrested by tipping off an informant in ICA that Liang was an overstayer
- As a result, she was able to attain a special pass so she could continue staying in Singapore to assist with investigations
BY
LORAINE LEE
Published August 21, 2023
SINGAPORE — In exchange for sex and money, an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer helped a female Chinese national to get arrested, thereby giving her access to special passes to extend her stay in Singapore.
On Monday (Aug 21), Teo Hwee Peng, 49, was sentenced to a total of 33 months in jail and a fine of S$2,634. He was convicted of eight corruption charges in May.
Special passes, which are issued by the ICA or the Ministry of Manpower, allow foreigners to stay in Singapore for specific purposes, such as to assist in investigations or attend court proceedings.
In response to queries from TODAY, ICA said Teo has been suspended.
On July 29, 2018, Teo met Liang Qinglan, a prostitute, through a contact he had made when he was part of the ICA’s Intel Operations branch.
Some time between July and October 2018, Teo and Liang had sex at her home in Jurong West.
As Liang had overstayed but wanted to continue working in Singapore, she asked Teo to help her get a special pass and gave him a red packet of RMB188.88 (S$35).
To do so, Teo gave an informant Liang’s address, who then tipped off another ICA officer. By having Liang arrested, she could get a special pass to continue staying in Singapore.
Liang was eventually arrested on Oct 16, 2018 and she obtained a special pass to stay in Singapore to assist ICA with investigations.
According to court documents, Liang later met Teo after she was released for dinner and gave him S$2,100 to S$2,200 for his help.
“Even after receiving a special pass, Liang continued to seek immigration help and advice from (Teo), which he provided,” said the prosecution, according to court documents.
Between October 2018 and July 2019, Teo also asked Liang to loan him a total of RMB7,000 on four occasions.
He repaid only RMB5,000 of that loan.
Teo was acquitted of one charge involving receiving a sexual favour from Liang as her evidence was unclear. He was also acquitted of three charges of graft involving another foreigner, Cheng Wenjuan, after she died of suicide in August 2021.
According to court documents, Teo argued that the red packet was a “symbolic gesture to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival”, denying that he had solicited any sexual services, gifts or money from Liang and Cheng.
He said he had taken the loans from Liang as he struggled to add money to his WeChat account, and it was “convenient to borrow money from Liang instead”.
In December 2021, Liang was sentenced to 25 weeks’ jail and a fine of S$8,000 after pleading guilty to three charges of corruption and one charge for offering sexual services online.
For each count of graft, Teo could have been jailed for up to five years and fined up to S$100,000.
