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Ex-Customs officer jailed 3 months for attempted bribery

SINGAPORE – A former Singapore Customs officer who tried to gain sexual favours from a cigarette smuggler in return for showing her leniency was sentenced on Monday (May 15) to three months’ jail for trying to obtain bribes.

SINGAPORE – A former Singapore Customs officer who tried to gain sexual favours from a cigarette smuggler in return for showing her leniency was sentenced on Monday (May 15) to three months’ jail for trying to obtain bribes.

Jonathan Sasayiah, 31, sent several text messages over a few days in July 2014 to a woman who was found in possession of contraband cigarettes, seeking gratification in the form of intimate acts “with no strings attached”. She cannot be named under a gag order.

The woman did not agree to Sasayiah’s illicit proposition but played along to gather evidence so that she could report him to the authorities. Prosecutors said Sasayiah’s corrupt solicitation was persistent, where he sent inappropriate text messages to the woman repeatedly over three days, complimenting her on her looks.

“His conduct was bridled with a cloak of purported sympathy for her financial predicament, but this was ultimately done to obtain intimate acts from her,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Navin Naidu, arguing for at least five months’ jail to be imposed.

Sasayiah had abused his position as a public servant and law enforcement officer, and had caused the woman great discomfort by seeking gratification of a sexual nature, said the prosecutor. Sasayiah also tried to cover his trail by deleting the text messages, he added.

Defence lawyer Patrick Fernandez, however, argued that his client should only be fined up to S$10,000. While Sasayiah’s conduct may have “tarnished the Government’s image as being transparent and fair in all dealings”, he was only a low-ranking officer and should not have caused serious damage to the reputation of public service institutions, he added.

Mr Fernandez also said his client deleted the messages because he realised his mistake and wanted to stop what he was doing.

In meting out the sentence, District Judge Michelle Yap said she was “fully satisfied” that a prison sentence is warranted, as a means of deterrence. The judge noted that regardless of whether Sasayiah was contrite or trying to destroy evidence in deleting the text messages he had sent to the woman, he intended to put a stop to his wrongdoing. He also did not receive the gratification that he had sought, she added.

Sasayiah was expressionless when he heard the sentence. His request for a two-week deferment of his sentence was approved, and Sasayiah is now out on bail of S$15,000. For attempting to obtain a bribe,

Sasayiah could have been jailed for up to five years, fined a maximum of S$10,000 or both.

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