Chinese National Tried to Bribe Cop With $76 to Avoid Being Checked for ID

We know that Singapore has a strict no-tolerance policy for bribery as we aim to be a “clean” country.

Not just clean in that there is physically no rubbish lying on the streets, and our MRT stations don’t smell like excretion.

Clean in the sense that our workers, including public servants and law enforcement officers, cannot be paid off to look the other way.

A Chinese national found out just how steadfast our police are when he tried to bribe an officer not to check his ID.

Of course, the bribe didn’t go through.

Here is more on what happened.

Chinese National Tried to Bribe Police Officers With $76

On 4 July 2021, a Chinese national tried his very best to bribe two police officers who asked to check his identification card.

The police had received reports of a suspicious person loitering in the area and were doing checks in response to the reports.

The Chinese national, wearing a white t-shirt that fit the description in the report, did not want to produce his identity.

His grand idea to evade that check was to bribe the two police officers with $76 in cash that he had on him.

Of course, the two police officers declined the bribe.

He Attempted Bribery Multiple Times

The rejection did not deter the Chinese national Xu Shoupei.

He continued to offer the bribe multiple times to the officers, who constantly declined the offer.

Even when Xu was handcuffed, he still continued to offer the bribe to the officers.

What a persistent man.

Sadly, that is not how the Singapore law enforcement system works.

The Reason for the Bribe Was Not to Affect His Employment Prospects in Singapore

If you’re thinking that the Chinese national was so intent on bribing the officers because he did something illegal, you’re wrong.

The man had not been charged with anything at that point in time, as the police had just been conducting checks.

The Straits Times reports that Xu did not have his identity card on him and was afraid that the police would lodge a report against him for not carrying it, as Deputy Public Prosecutor Ong Xin Jie shared.

Xu was afraid this would affect his job prospects in Singapore (he is currently unemployed).

Well, all we can say is that it was counterproductive since Xu is now slapped with graft charges for the bribery attempts.

He may be sentenced to jail for up to five years or fined up to $100,000 if convicted.