Vehicle inspector jailed for accepting bribe

SINGAPORE: A former principal vehicle inspector who accepted bribes to turn a blind eye to illegal vehicle modifications was also accused of threatening public safety on the roads.

He was jailed on Monday for 18 months.

As motor vehicles here must be sent for inspection periodically to ensure they are safe for road usage, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Peggy Pao charged that 45-year-old Md Daud Nadzim had "used his position of authority to allow non-compliant car owners to evade the law".

Between October 2009 and March last year, Md Daud -- then employed by STA Inspection -- corruptly obtained bribes of between S$20 and S$200 from 10 motor vehicle workshops in return for ignoring 35 illegally modified cars.

In all, he had accepted S$1,675 in bribes.

Pleading for leniency, his lawyer Winston Quek argued the amount of bribes collected was small.

His client had also fully cooperated with the investigations and had given the authorities updates on potential loopholes in the inspection regime that could be abused, added Mr Quek.

However, DPP Pao said Daud's offences "seriously embarrassed STA Inspection" and had "cast doubt on the integrity of the regulatory framework as a whole".

The number of people caught with illegally modified vehicles increased by 44 per cent between 2008 and 2009.

Court documents showed that two other vehicle inspectors, Abdul Rashid Ayabullah and Selamatshahh Zainal, would help in passing illegally modified vehicles if Daud was absent.

Senior District Judge Liew Thiam Leng agreed with the prosecution and said: "The implication is (that) public safety is at stake."

The maximum punishment for corruption is a S$100,000 fine and five years' jail.

ORIGINAL SOURCE