He blamed everyone but himself
Aug 13th, 08
Judge finds former ICAofficer’s jail term to be inadequate, adds 9 months
FROM the moment he was convicted of abetting his then-mistress in committing multiple immigration offences, sacked senior immigration officer Thong Sing Hock set about blaming everyone except himself, in an attempt to get his two-year jail sentence reduced.
But his allegations and claims cut no ice with Appeal Judge V K Rajah, who yesterday increased the penalties for four of the nine charges that Mr Thong was convicted of in April.
The additional nine months in jail will give the former deputy superintendent with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) “more time to reflect on the deplorable nature of his transgressions and come to terms with reality”, said Justice Rajah.
“He appears to be blaming all and sundry for his unhappy predicament. The truth of the matter is that he is the sole conscious author of his present misfortune,” the judge said, adding that he was disappointed that Mr Thong showed no remorse for his offences.
Justice Rajah emphasised that the sentences were enhanced “not on account of the extended wild goose chase Thong has taken all of us on, but rather for the manifest inadequacy of the earlier sentences” meted out by the district judge.
Mr Thong, 50, had accused his previous lawyer, Mr Choo Si Sen, of advising him to plead guilty in the earlier trial as a “matter of convenience”.
Mr Thong, who represented himself at the appeal hearing yesterday, maintained his claim that he followed Mr Choo’s advice even though he was innocent because he had “due respect and high regard” for the lawyer.
Although Justice Rajah had foundMr Thong’s assertion “wildly improbable”, the judge said he “felt duty bound to look into the matter further”.
In delivering his judgment yesterday, Justice Rajah said Mr Choo — a veteran lawyer who has been practising for 38 years — had “discharged his duties conscientiously” and had in no way “failed Mr Thong”.
Justice Rajah also refuted Mr Thong’s claims that he committed the offences in his personal capacity as the boyfriend of Chinese national Song Qi, whose real name is Song Qinghua.
Noting that he was “more than satisfied” that Mr Thong knew about Ms Song’s hidden identity all along, the judge said his failure to report her to the authorities had “violated the trust reposed in him as a senior public officer”.
The judge stressed: “What he did was completely unacceptable and the enormity of the damage he has done to his office cannot be overstated.”
