Man jailed for assault and offering $12 bribe to officers
A construction worker assaulted an auxiliary police officer after she caught him smoking at the void deck of a block of flats.
After that, Liu Huibin offered Ms Aruna Magathevan and her colleague, Mr Mohammed Latiff Mohd Ali, a $12 bribe in exchange for letting him go.
They turned down the offer.
The 44-year-old Chinese national was sentenced yesterday to two months and two weeks' jail after pleading guilty to one count each of assaulting a public servant and offering the bribe.
Ms Aruna and Mr Latiff were performing their enforcement duties at the void deck of Block 312B Sumang Link in Punggol at 7.40pm on Jan 27 when they spotted Liu smoking nearby.
The pair approached him as they wanted to hand him a notice to attend court for the offence of smoking in a prohibited area.
Liu put out his cigarette and addressed the auxiliary police officers in Mandarin.
Ms Aruna phoned her supervisor, who could speak the language. She passed the phone to Liu and the supervisor told him that he had committed an offence, before asking him to also provide his particulars to the two officers.
Liu replied that he did not have his work permit with him and asked to be given another chance. When Liu later did not want to produce his particulars, Ms Aruna called the police.
He then tried to leave.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Chan said: "Aruna moved forward to prevent Liu from leaving. Liu then grabbed Aruna's left wrist and pushed her shoulder. Aruna then instructed Liu to remain seated and to wait for the police to arrive. Liu complied and sat down."
While waiting for the police to arrive, Liu took out $12 from his pocket and offered the money to the two officers, who refused it.
In a joint statement with the Singapore Police Force on Wednesday, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said that it would like to commend Ms Aruna and Mr Latiff for their integrity.
For offering the bribe, Liu could have been jailed for up to five years and fined up to $100,000. For assaulting a public servant, he could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined or caned.
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