4 former ICA officers charged with graft

SINGAPORE — Four former Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers were charged yesterday with taking bribes for helping foreigners extend their stay here.

Ezhar Kahmis, 25; Mohamed Nazrul Noor Mohamed, 34; and Nor Hidayat Mohamed Hussain, 26, each face two charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act, while Lukmanulhakim Samsun, 29, faces one charge.

As ICA Specialists at the Tuas Checkpoint, their duties included assessing whether foreigners met entry requirements before granting eligible visitors Social Visit Passes.

But they were allegedly recruited by a former colleague, Mohammed Mustaffa Mohabat Ali, to grant visit pass extensions to specific foreign women driven through the checkpoint without performing the checks. In return, they were offered kickbacks ranging between S$50 and S$100 in 2010 and 2011.

Mustaffa’s scheme involved 33 Filipino and Vietnamese women who were referred to him by Philibert Tng Hai Swee, the court heard previously.

Mustaffa, 29, who was charged with 35 counts of corruption, was jailed for 21 months and ordered to pay a penalty of S$8,050 last month. Tng died from lung cancer in October 2011.

The ICA said Nor Hidayat left service on Feb 23, 2011, when his contract expired. The other three had their employment contracts terminated on June 22 that year.

It added: “As guardians of Singapore’s border security, ICA officers are expected to maintain a high standard of integrity and professionalism. Officers who commit offences will be dealt with in a firm and fair manner, in accordance with the law.”

One of the men, Nor Hidayat, yesterday indicated he intends to claim trial.

The four men are out on bail of S$10,000 each and their cases will be mentioned in court next month.

The maximum penalty for corruption is a S$100,000 fine and five years’ jail on each charge.

KIMBERLY SPYKERMAN