- Joined
- Jul 25, 2008
- Messages
- 13,542
- Points
- 113
4 months’ jail for NTUC LearningHub trainer who collected over $26,000 in bribes
Sandran Samoo was sentenced to four months’ jail and fined $26,570.ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Andrew Wong
Apr 04, 2025
SINGAPORE – A welding trainer with NTUC LearningHub told his trainees that the course he taught was difficult, but he could help them pass the course’s assessment if they each gave him between $100 and $200 or even a smaller amount they could afford.
In this manner, Sandran Samoo collected more than $26,000 in bribes from trainees from 2016 to 2022 before he was caught. The majority of his trainees were foreigners.
On April 4, the 52-year-old Malaysian was sentenced to four months’ jail and fined $26,570 after pleading guilty to five counts of conducting corrupt transactions as an agent under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Another 21 similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
Sandran, who is a Singapore permanent resident, had been employed as a welding course trainer by NTUC LearningHub from 2012.
He conducted a five-day workshop several times in a year. He also invigilated the assessment that trainees had to undergo on the final day of the course.
Those who passed the final assessment would receive a welding certificate.
Sandran gave his trainees the impression that he could influence the outcome of the assessment despite knowing that the test would be assessed by a third party.
The court heard that while there is no requirement for workers to have the certificate before they can perform welding work, most employers in Singapore would generally only allow workers to do so when they hold such a certificate.
Sandran said he told his trainees at the start of the course that it was difficult to pass the final assessment, and that the trainees’ skills were not up to par.
He then offered to help them pass if they each gave him between $100 and $200. He would also accept other amounts if the trainee could not afford the asking bribe.
Sandran was eventually caught in September 2023 when a trainee told his employer that Sandran had asked him for $150 to help him pass the assessment.
The employer alerted both NTUC and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, and instructed his employee not to take the assessment.
Upon further investigations, Sandran admitted that he began soliciting bribes from his trainees from as early as 2016.
He admitted to obtaining bribes totalling $350 a month on average since 2016, about $3,600 a year.
Those found guilty of partaking in corrupt transactions as agents can be jailed for up to five years, fined up to $100,000, or both.
