Travelling to Malaysia is common for many people and employees in Singapore who travel the borders for work.
But for most, travelling to Johor Bahru can be a stressful endeavour.
(To be fair, travelling in general via car seems to be stressful. I say this a person without a license, but still.)
This was the case for Wang Xiping, 42, who found herself in a predicament while in customs.
On 17 July, the woman was travelling towards Johor Bahru with a friend. Wang was accompanying said friend to collect a medical examination report and then show the latter around the city, according to Shin Min Daily News.
It was the friend’s first time in Malaysia and Wang was playing tour guide.
When Wang tried to enter Johor via the Woodlands checkpoints, she had inadvertently tried to enter via car to the bus lane at the checkpoint.
Now normally, any person who has made a mistake would be asked to try again.
It’s a reasonable ask.
Wang went a different route.
Spoiler alert: it was not a good one.
If I Could Turn Back Time
Wang has been sentenced for three weeks for bribing a Singapore auxillary police officer.
When the officer noticed her on the wrong lane, he instructed her to do a U-turn and return to the checkpoint so that she could re-enter again via the correct lane for cars.
Wang, in response, decided to offer the officer S$15.
The officer responded swiftly, rejecting the first bribe, and requesting for her passport.
Wang, who wanted to get through the checkpoint quickly, handed over her passport and a $50 note. She asked the officer to accept the bribe and let her go so that she could get to the hospital to collect the report on time.
In turn, the officer informed her that their interaction, and in turn her two bribes, were being recorded by the body-camera he was donning.
She was then arrested at the checkpoint at 11:30 am that same day, and subsequently released on bail.
A Case of the Nerves
So what happened?
Well, according to Wang, it was a combination of nerves and poor language skills.
In court, Wang explained that she had mistook the auxiliary police officer as one from Malaysia, and had offered the bribe out of anxiety and a lack of understanding.
Wang also elaborated that she thought the officer had rejected the first bribe she had offered because he wanted more money. Hence, she then offered a bigger bribe.
The prosecution, however, pointed out that she had still attempted to bribe an officer twice, both of which took place within Singapore’s borders, and recommended a sentence of three to four weeks.
In her mitigation plea, Wang pleaded for leniency, explaining that she had been anxious during the incident and also affected by a personal issue between herself and her husband. She also cited responsibility to her four children, with the youngest under the age of one.
As Wang’s husband is currently overseas for business and not returning soon, she requested a postponement of her sentence until 18 Nov in order to make arrangements for her children. The district judge granted her request.
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