Private-bus driver, 32, gets jail for trying to bribe ICA officer at Woodlands Checkpoint
SINGAPORE — Hoping to make extra cash by picking up ad-hoc passengers at the Woodlands Checkpoint, Alagendra Ranjan ended up trying to bribe an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer so that he can stay longer at a bus bay on a busy Friday night.

A view of the Woodlands Checkpoint.
- Alagendra Ranjan, 32, admitted to trying to bribe an ICA officer at Woodlands Checkpoint
- He also called the officer a "pig"
- Alagendra drove a private bus and wanted to pick up more ad-hoc passengers at the checkpoint
- The officer told him not to wait any longer at the bus bay but he tried to bribe the officer instead
- For his offences, Alagendra was sentenced to four weeks' jail
SINGAPORE — Hoping to make extra cash by picking up ad-hoc passengers at the Woodlands Checkpoint, Alagendra Ranjan ended up trying to bribe an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer so that he can stay longer at a bus bay on a busy Friday night.
When that failed, the bus driver called the officer a "pig" in Malay before driving off from the location.
The 32-year-old Malaysian pleaded guilty on Monday (June 5) to attempting to bribe an ICA officer and was sentenced to four weeks' jail.
Another charge of using abusive words towards a public servant was taken into consideration during sentencing.
WHAT HAPPENED
As a bus driver employed by Amashan Tour and Travel Sdn Bhd, Alagendra crossed the Woodlands Checkpoint daily while driving a 44-seater bus to transport workers between Changi Airport and Johor, Malaysia.
He would typically make about six trips a day.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Shamini Joseph said that on May 12 this year, Alagendra set off to ferry 17 workers from Changi Airport to Johor and arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint around 7.30pm.
His passengers later alighted from the bus to go through immigration checks while Alagendra drove to the counter for departing buses and cleared his own immigration check at 8.18pm.
He then drove his bus to a designated lane for public service buses.
This prompted Sergeant Khairul Anwar Khairudin, an ICA officer, to approach and direct Alagendra to move his bus to the area for private buses that was located further ahead at a concourse where his 17 passengers could board.
Later, Sergeant Khairul noticed that more than 17 people had boarded the bus and Alagendra continued to wait for more passengers to board.
By this time, it was already 9pm.
Alagendra did this because he wanted to get a side income by collecting transport fees from passengers whom he was not tasked to ferry but who wanted a ride to Johor on his bus, DPP Joseph said.
As the concourse was crowded with other private buses due to the Friday evening rush hour, Sergeant Khairul approached Alagendra again to instruct him to leave.
He reversed his bus out of the bay but stopped to pick up more ad-hoc passengers.
Sergeant Khairul then went up to Alagendra once more to ask him why he was still there.
Alagendra explained that he wanted to earn extra money by picking up more passengers but was told firmly by Sergeant Khairul to leave.
Then, Alagendra said in a hushed tone to the officer in Malay: "How much you want?"
By doing this, he offered a bribe to Sergeant Khairul in exchange for letting his bus remain at the private bus bay, DPP Joseph said.
In response, Sergeant Khairul sternly asked Alagendra to repeat himself. Angered by his response, Alagendra called the officer a "pig" in Malay and drove away from the concourse.
Sergeant Khairul then reported the incident and Alagendra was arrested on the same night he returned to Singapore via the Woodlands Checkpoint.
During mitigation, Alagendra, who was not represented by a lawyer, asked the court for forgiveness, saying he had responded "out of stress" and was aware that Singapore is "very strict about anti-corruption".
To this, Senior District Judge Bala Reddy said: "You say that you know the anti-corruption law and yet you offered him a bribe and abused him."
For attempting to bribe the ICA officer, Alagendra could have been fined up to S$100,000 or jailed up to five years, or both.