Policeman charged with corruption, buying lottery tickets and betting with a bookmaker
Woo has been interdicted from service since January this year.ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
Published Sep 25, 2015, 10:24 am SGT
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent
SINGAPORE - A policeman was charged on Friday with two counts of corruption, involving $35,000, and other offences.
Staff sergeant Woo Poh Liang, 28, is accused of obtaining a bribe of $25,000 from one Angelo Salvador Beltran in return for helping him avoid prosecution for offences of insulting modesty. This allegedly took place at a taxi stand near Outram MRT station on Sept 17 last year.
He allegedly corruptly obtained another $10,000 from Beltran for the same purpose inside an interview room at Clementi Police Divisional Headquarters the same day.
Woo also faces 11 charges of buying 4D and Toto tickets valued at $2,164 from one Gordon Ta Zhi Liang between May and July last year.
In addition he was charged under the Betting Act with betting with a bookmaker by placing bets to forecast the results of the 2014 Fifa World Cup on six occasions.
The bets were between $500 and $9,500.
He also allegedly acted as a runner for a bookmaker by accepting bets to forecast the result of the Fifa World Cup on June 23 last year.
Bail of $30,000 was offered.
A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Oct 22.
Woo, who joined the police force in June 2008, has been interdicted from service since January this year.
The maximum penalty for corruption is a $100,000 fine and five years' jail.
If convicted of buying public lottery, he could be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to six months. The maximum penalty for betting with a bookmaker is also a $5,000 fine and six months' jail .
