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2 men fined for lying to police
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 16 May 2012 1654 hrs
SINGAPORE: Two men have been fined for lying to the police that a parking warden had asked for a bribe.
Soh Chee Kwang and Desmond Cheong Kok Foong each received a fine of S$3,000 on Wednesday for providing false information to the police.
They had lied that a parking warden wanted a bribe of S$20 from their friend, Kelvin Leong Kwok Yin.
Soh, 35, and Cheong, 34, were close friends of 29-year-old Leong.
In September 2009, the three and another man, sales manager Domenic Ong Yue Ren, were going to a hawker centre at the East Coast Park for dinner.
While parking his car, Leong found a used one-dollar parking coupon with its tabs folded backwards.
He decided to re-use it and tampered with the coupon.
A parking warden, Mr Vickneswaran Thevathasa, who was on his rounds saw this and approached them when they returned to the car.
He told Leong that he would be issuing a summons.
The court heard that Leong refused to give his particulars, and drove off with his three friends.
Nearly half a year later, Leong was interviewed by the police.
He lied that the warden asked for a bribe of S$20 to remain silent about the tampered coupon.
The court heard that Soh and Cheong found themselves being "relentlessly pressured, cajoled and emotionally blackmailed" into going along with Leong's lies.
Their lawyer, Mr Yusfiyanto Yatiman, said Leong even threatened them with harm and that the duo committed the offences "under misguided loyalty towards their friend".
Both men later confessed that they had lied to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
Leong was fined S$10,000 last year for his offences, including lying to the police and using a tampered coupon.
Ong was fined S$3,000 last year for providing false information to the police.
The maximum penalties for lying to the police consist of a fine of S$5,000 and a year in jail.
- CNA/fa
