Wanting to stay in Singapore to work, a sex worker had sex with an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer without asking for payment, hoping he would help her gain a Special Pass to stay in the country legally.
She followed his instructions when she was arrested for overstaying and was later issued the S-Pass legalising her stay in Singapore, but continued to give the officer money when prompted, in order to safeguard her S-Pass status.
China national Liang Qinglan, 38, was sentenced on Friday (Dec 17) to 25 weeks' jail and fined S$8,000.
She pleaded guilty to three charges of corruptly giving gratification under the Prevention of Corruption Act and one charge under the Women's Charter for using three websites to offer paid sexual services. Another eight charges were considered in sentencing.
The court heard that Liang came to Singapore on a social visit pass in the first half of 2018. When her pass expired, she became an overstayer and continued to work as a sex worker while finding a way to extend her stay.
She came to know of co-accused, ICA Checkpoints Inspector Teo Hwee Peng, now 48, through an acquaintance.
Sometime in July or August 2018, Liang contacted Teo via WeChat, saying she had overstayed for about a month and asked for help to secure an S-Pass.
Teo asked her for her passport details and address, and said he could help her secure a pass, but wanted an iPhone in return. Liang agreed.
ICA OFFICER ALLEGEDLY INVITED HIMSELF TO HER FLAT FOR SEX
They met late one night around 2.30am sometime between July and October 2018. Teo invited himself to the flat in Jurong West where Liang was staying.He hugged her when he arrived and asked if she had a condom. Liang understood that he was asking for sexual gratification so he would help secure her S-Pass for her.
They had sexual intercourse, and Teo did not pay her for her services. Liang did not ask him for money either. She knew it was wrong to provide sexual services to an ICA officer, but obliged as she wanted to remain in Singapore to work, the prosecutor said.
Liang then asked about the procedure for getting an S-Pass, and Teo told her that his responsibilities involved arresting overstayers in Singapore. He described the procedure to her, and told her how to answer the questions posed to her.
He also told her she would be arrested, and to wear long-sleeved clothing as it might be cold.
On Oct 16, 2018, Liang was arrested in a joint operation by ICA and the police. She followed Teo's instructions and answered ICA's questions, agreeing to assist with related investigations.
She paid a composition or out-of-court fine for her offences and was given an S-Pass.
After October 2018, Teo contacted Liang for further gratification. They met for a meal at the Jem shopping mall, and Liang paid for both their meals. She asked him if he wanted to shop for the iPhone, which was the agreed bribe, but Teo declined and took cash of S$2,100 to S$2,200 from her as his reward instead.
Later that month, Teo contacted Liang saying he urgently needed a loan of 5,000 yuan (S$1,072). Although she already had her S-Pass, she feared it might be revoked if she rejected Teo, or that she might need his help in future if her pass expired.
She transferred the money to him, and Teo later returned S$1,000 to her.
Liang also admitted to a charge under the Women's Charter. She began renting a flat in Jurong West in November 2020 and began providing sexual services to customers the next day.
She charged S$120 per hour and posted advertisements online on three websites detailing her services, paying about 500 yuan per month to list those ads.
Between November 2020 and January 2021, she provided sexual services to about 90 customers until the police raided her apartment. She remitted about S$8,000 of her earnings to her family in China.
The prosecutor asked for between 12 weeks and 16 weeks' jail for each corruption charge, and a "short" jail term and a fine of S$8,000 for the Women's Charter charge.
He said Liang had repeatedly bribed Teo in loans, money and sexual gratification and directly benefited from the bribes. The S$8,000 fine is the same amount of money which she remitted to China.
ABANDONED BY FATHER OF HER CHILD: DEFENCE
Defence lawyer Foo Ho Chew asked for the lower end of the jail term asked for by the prosecution. He said in his mitigation plea that Liang is the mother of a five-year-old boy, and was abandoned by the child's father.She provides for herself, her son and her mother and came to Singapore to make a living with little formal education, he said.
"Everything she does, she does for them. This unfortunately, would also include corruptly giving inducement to (Teo) so that she could extend her stay here to continue to earn income for them by providing sexual services," said Mr Foo.
He said Liang regrets all her actions in the offences and is remorseful "since she came to understand the seriousness of her offences".
"It was not always easy for her to understand the significance of public sector corruption, or how corruption of public servants if allowed to go on would undermine public sector confidence in public service," said the lawyer.
"Your honour, she came from a land where it is a prevalent practice for people to give a token of appreciation to public officers to help them with permits and government service applications."
District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt interjected and said it is very clear in Singapore's Prevention of Corruption Act that just because something is customary, it is not a defence.
He said he was prepared to grant a sentence that was at the lower end of what the prosecution was calling for, as Liang was pleading guilty early.
Teo is set to return to court for a pre-trial conference later this month. He faces multiple charges related to Liang, as well as a second woman from China.
