Ex-vehicle inspector jailed for graft

[Grand Moff Tarkin]

Feb 7, 2011

Ex-vehicle inspector jailed for graft

By Elena Chong

Mohamed Daud Nadzim, 45, was jailed 18 months for taking bribes in return for turning a blind eye to illegally modified cars. ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

A FORMER vehicle inspector was jailed 18 months on Monday for taking bribes in return for turning a blind eye to illegally modified cars.

Mohamed Daud Nadzim, 45, is one of six inspectors from STA Inspection who were questioned by anti-graft officers in a probe last year.

None of the others has been charged. Daud accepted a total of $1,675 from 14 people, mainly workshop representatives, in return for not carrying out stringent checks on vehicles which had illegal modifications done.

He pleaded guilty to 16 bribery charges. Fourteen others were taken into consideration.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Peggy Pao Pei Yu said Daud, who was relatively senior, had roped in two junior colleagues to help him pass the illegally modified vehicles.

The modifications were done mainly to windscreens, windows, lamps and exhaust pipes.

Read the full report in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[Grand Moff Tarkin]

Man jailed for accepting bribe
By Leong Wee Keat | Posted: 07 February 2011 1924 hrs
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="260"> <tbody><tr> <td align="right" width="20"></td> <td align="right" width="240">

</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="60" valign="top"></td> <td class="update" height="80" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="138">Photos </td> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="47">1 of 1</td> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="18"><input disabled="disabled" id="btnPrev" value="<< Previous" src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_previous.gif" height="15" type="image" width="18"></td> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="19"><input id="bntPlay" value="Play - Stop" src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_stop.gif" height="15" type="image" width="19"></td> <td bgcolor="#f6f6f6" width="18"><input disabled="disabled" id="btnNext" value=" Next >> " src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_next.gif" height="15" type="image" width="18"></td> </tr> </tbody></table>

</td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td class="update"></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td>
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
SINGAPORE: A former principal vehicle inspector who accepted bribes to turn a blind eye to illegal vehicle modifications was also accused of threatening public safety on the roads.

He was jailed on Monday for 18 months.

As motor vehicles here must be sent for inspection periodically to ensure they are safe for road usage, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Peggy Pao charged that 45-year-old Md Daud Nadzim had "used his position of authority to allow non-compliant car owners to evade the law".

Between October 2009 and March last year, Md Daud -- then employed by STA Inspection -- corruptly obtained bribes of between S$20 and S$200 from 10 motor vehicle workshops in return for ignoring 35 illegally modified cars.

In all, he had accepted S$1,675 in bribes.

Pleading for leniency, his lawyer Winston Quek argued the amount of bribes collected was small.

His client had also fully cooperated with the investigations and had given the authorities updates on potential loopholes in the inspection regime that could be abused, added Mr Quek.

However, DPP Pao said Daud's offences "seriously embarrassed STA Inspection" and had "cast doubt on the integrity of the regulatory framework as a whole".

The number of people caught with illegally modified vehicles increased by 44 per cent between 2008 and 2009.

Court documents showed that two other vehicle inspectors, Abdul Rashid Ayabullah and Selamatshahh Zainal, would help in passing illegally modified vehicles if Daud was absent.

Senior District Judge Liew Thiam Leng agreed with the prosecution and said: "The implication is (that) public safety is at stake."

The maximum punishment for corruption is a S$100,000 fine and five years' jail.

-CNA/wk