MFA director-general appeals against jail sentence over the misuse of diplomatic bags

An appeal by Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) director-general Gilbert Oh Hin Kwan against his jail sentence has been adjourned by the High Court.

This is to allow lawyers on both sides to clarify the terms which led to the 45-year-old pleading guilty.

Oh pleaded guilty in April to a charge of giving false information to a public servant. He faces another two charges – abetting the cheating of MFA over his request to courier luxury watches using the diplomatic bag service and cheating the ministry over a package of Panadol sent through the service.

He was sentenced in May to a week in jail, after District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz disagreed with recommendations from the prosecution and defence for a fine.

The prosecution had sought a fine of between $6,000 and $9,000, while Oh’s previous defence team had asked for a fine of less than $5,000.

The two cheating-related charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, who was arguing Oh’s appeal on Oct 1, said there was an agreement that the prosecution would ask for a fine if the MFA official pleaded guilty to giving false information to a public servant.

He produced two letters from the prosecution, which Mr Tan said made this clear.

He asked why the prosecution had changed its stance from a fine to upholding the one-week jail term.

Describing Oh’s sentence as “manifestly excessive”, the lawyer said in his written submissions that High Court Justice Dedar Singh Gill should set aside the lower court’s sentence and uphold the prosecution’s sentencing position of a fine.

Mr Tan said that if the custodial threshold had been crossed, he urged the court to sentence Oh to a community service order or short detention order instead.

He said the district judge had erred in rejecting the prosecution’s argument that “little, if any, appreciable harm” arose from Oh’s false statement.

He said his client lied to Mr Ong Eng Chuan, deputy secretary of MFA, at around 6.30pm on Jan 19, 2023.

Later that evening, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) called Oh in for an interview and he stuck to his lies. He revealed the truth in his second statement to CPIB shortly before 10.30am the following day.

Mr Tan said Oh’s lie does not appear to have wasted investigative resources since his client told CPIB the truth within 24 hours, adding that the false information did not lead to Oh avoiding the consequences for his offences.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Pei Wei acknowledged that the prosecution had not sought a custodial sentence at first instance.

However, she said the prosecution is not precluded from defending the district judge’s sentencing decision, “when that decision is legally sound and reasonably defensible”.

She added that it is ultimately for the court to determine the sentence.

“Accordingly, the sentence submitted by the prosecution does not form, and should not be seen as, the upper limit of the sentence that the court may mete out,” DPP Tan added.

Oh had sought to use the diplomatic bag service to deliver a package containing luxury watches from China to Singapore for a friend.

After the package was found by immigration officers, he lied to MFA that the watches belonged to his father, as he believed the ministry’s response would be more lenient.

Diplomatic bags are used to send official correspondence and items to and from the ministry and its overseas offices, such as embassies and consulates. They are protected by diplomatic immunity and cannot be opened or seized by Customs officials.

In sentencing Oh to a jail term, District Judge Sharmila said a strong response was required.

She said the falsehood had the potential to diminish not just the credibility of the institution the public servant represents, but also the public’s trust in the public service as a whole.

She wrote: “The potential harm to the public interest is all the more pronounced, real and significant, when a high-ranking public servant such as Oh seeks to subvert the internal investigation of the public institution he serves.”

Justice Gill gave the prosecution a week to furnish materials relating to the timeline of its correspondences with Oh. Mr Tan was asked to give his response to the materials by Oct 16.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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