A director-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( MFA ) has admitted to lying to the ministry about how to ship luxury watches for a friend in January 2023.
Gilbert Oh Hin Kwan, 45, pleaded guilty to the charge of giving false information to a public servant on Friday ( Apr 26 ). On May 20, he may return to court for imprisonment.
The prosecution is seeking a great of S$ 6, 000 to S$ 9, 000, while the army is asking for a great of less than S$ 5, 000.
The jury heard that , Oh had agreed to help his colleague, Chinese national Mr Jiang Si, bring pieces that belonged to her from China to Singapore, where she was living.
On Jan 12, 2023, Oh contacted his partner Mr Dion Loke Cheng Wang, who was serving at Singapore’s embassy in Beijing, over WhatsApp.
Oh lied to Mr Loke that the relatives of his friend, whom he said was a Taiwanese minister, wanted to have a package sent to him in Singapore. He requested that Mr. Loke send it using MFA’s political case service.
When sending documents or items for standard use, political carriers are used. Under the Vienna Convention, political bags may be opened or detained.
In fact,  , Ms Jiang was hardly a minister. According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Pei Wei, Oh claimed she was one because he believed that would make his partner more likely to accept his request.
Ms. Jiang requested a closed package from Mr. Loke after she gave his private address in Beijing.
The bundle contained 21 comfort pieces, a ring and about seven children’s books, which all belonged to Ms Jiang and her companion, Mr Liu Liang. Oh did n’t know the number of watches or the package’s precise contents until that point.
Mr. Loke did not use the political bag service, which was suspended at the time, to present the package. On a trip from China to Singapore on January 17, 2023, he carried it in his luggage.
After landing near midnight, his luggage was screened by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority ( ICA ) officers. The closed bundle was opened, revealing the pieces.
Mr. Loke informed the Algorithm officials that he had received the package from a Chinese diplomat and that he had returned it for Oh.
The officers were given access to the subject and conducted an initial interview with Mr. Loke at the airport until dawn. MFA was informed of the affair.
On the morning of January 19, 2023, MFA’s then deputy minister for administration, Mr. Ong Eng Chuan, wrote to Oh to request a written accounts of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Loke’s entry into Singapore.
Oh was concerned that the prosecution’s claim that it might have an affect on his career advancement.
According to Ms. Tan,” He made the decision to tell MFA that his father owned the watches because he thought the MFA would be more forgiving than if he told the truth.”
Oh disclosed his intentions to the MFA when he told his father.
He then allegedly falsely claimed in an email to Mr. Ong that he had requested his assistance in bringing the jewellery to Singapore at around 6.30pm that morning.
Oh admitted guilt and was charged with lying to a common slave.
Oh, she claimed,” Oh knew it was possible that this lay would make Mr. Ong disregard the circumstances under which the pieces were brought to Singapore,” said Ms. Tan.
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau ( CPIB ) opened inquiries into the case and spoke with Oh the same day.
Oh lied about his father asking for money to send the watches to Singapore in his first declaration to CPIB, which was made at about midnight on January 20, 2023.
But in his next speech at about 10.30am, he admitted that it was Ms Jiang, and certainly his dad, who had asked for his help.
Oh also made an admission that she had defrauded the MFA by concealing the fact that a deal of Panadol sent to Mr. Loke in Beijing through the political case support in December 2022 was intended for a close friend.
For imprisonment, this was taken into account along with another cost of aiding in the cheating of MFA by ordering Mr. Loke to transport the expensive watches using a political bag.