Man Jailed After Offering $100 to Stop LTA Officer from Seizing oBike Bicycle

It’s safe to say that Singapore is a country with a generally low crime rate.

And if you’ve committed some crimes, it’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ll be caught.

Trying to bribe your way out of trouble isn’t the best idea either, cause we know how all those guys end up.

Unfortunately, one guy tried his luck and it didn’t go so well.

Man Jailed After Offering $100 to Stop LTA Officer from Seizing oBike Bicycle

I’m sure it’s been a while since any of us have heard the name ‘oBike’ in a hot minute.

Keep in mind that 2018 was the year oBike was going through liquidation as well and I promise all of this will be relevant in a moment.

Because on 21 Dec 2018, Wong Swee Liang, now 58, tried to bribe some Land Transport Authority (LTA) Officers who wanted to seize his shared bicycle.

This occurred around 51 Ubi Avenue 1.

The two officers were there to collect any abandoned oBike bicycles.

Despite their warnings, Wong persisted in trying to bribe them with $100, landing him three weeks of jail on 28 Jan this year.

Details On What Happened

As mentioned, the two officers in the area to carry out their duties.

One of them, Mr Norris Ang, identified himself to Wong as the former was in plain clothes.

Wong initially thought that the two were salvage contractors and tried to buy the bicycle from them. They even told him to approach LTA officially if he had more questions.

It was here when Wong tried to bribe them.

Mr Ang alleges that Wong initially tried to offer $50, saying that it would be wasted that the bicycle would be scrapped.

The officer rejected the offer which didn’t dissuade the shipping executive from trying again.

This was when the $100 bribe was offered, with Wong claiming that nobody would know if Mr Ang took the bribe.

One can only wonder if an oBike bicycle is worth that much.

Once again, the bribe was refused.

The other officer took a photo of Wong sifting through his wallet.

He sent this to a WhatsApp group comprising the two officers and their supervisors.

The matter was later referred to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

Confirming the Crime

The district judge confirmed the man’s corrupt act as it had the intention to gain favour from the officers.

Wong initially tried to defend himself, testifying that he didn’t know the officers were from LTA.

However, that contradicted his statement where he first admitted to realising their identities after they told him to contact LTA personally.

Wong was then given his three-week jail sentence.

Which, all things considered, calling what his eventual sentence was as light is an understatement.

Offering gratification could’ve led to Wong being fined up to $100,000, a jail term of five years or both.

Featured Image: Andy.LIU / Shutterstock.com