Woman jailed for giving false information

[Ginchiyo Tachibana]

Updated: 08/22/2013 19:56 | By Channel NewsAsia

Woman jailed for giving false information

SINGAPORE: A woman, who gave false information that an accused person and his lawyer were offering bribes to a judge, was sentenced to six weeks' jail by a district court on Thursday.

Koh Yew Choo, 46, had made the allegations in a 2009 letter that was addressed to the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs.

The letter was signed off by another person, who claimed that he had not drafted the letter and had no knowledge of the facts in the letter as he was not conversant in English.

Koh was found guilty in July of knowingly providing false information.

In meting out the sentence on Thursday, District Judge Lim Keng Yeow said that Koh's actions were "clearly premeditated, calculated, and deliberate".

He pointed out that the totality of the evidence points to malice and vengefulness driving Koh's complaint. This was a result of her relationship with the accused person having soured irreparably over the management of a food court and the deep-seated animosity between them.

The judge added that the allegations contained in the letter were "baseless" and "shockingly severe", and had suggested complicity on the part of the judge.

"Even a mere attempt by a lawyer and an accused person to bribe a judge would be unthinkable in Singapore," he noted.

The district judge said a deterrent sentence was needed to ensure that man-hours are not wasted in investigating false complaints, and that no unnecessary inconvenience is caused to innocent persons.

He said: "A system of zero tolerance towards corruption has to maintain a high level of openness to whistle-blowing, and can neither ignore nor be too quick to dismiss any complaint.

"This naturally attracts abuse, as some may be tempted to take advantage of such rigorous enforcement for their own ends by making false complaints. Such abuse is, of course, highly undesirable."

Koh is appealing both the conviction and sentence.

Bail was set at S$10,000 pending appeal. - CNA/jc