MFA director-general loses appeal against jail term for lying over attempted misuse of diplomatic bags
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 11 Feb 2025
Author: Selina Lum
Gilbert Oh Hin Kwan, 46, was sentenced to a week in jail by a district judge in May 2024, and the court found that the district judge was not wrong in finding that Oh’s culpability was high, and that a custodial term was justified.
A director-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) who lied over his attempted misuse of the diplomatic bag service started serving his one-week jail term on Feb 10 after the High Court dismissed his appeal against the sentence.
Gilbert Oh Hin Kwan, 46, was sentenced to a week in jail by a district judge in May 2024, even though both the prosecution and the defence had urged the court to impose a fine.
Then, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz had said that a fine was inappropriate, as “the serious potential consequences to the integrity of the public service and the MFA domestically – insofar as its internal investigative process was undermined – and internationally justify a custodial sentence as a starting point”.
The prosecution had sought a fine of between $6,000 and $9,000, while Oh’s previous lawyers had asked for a fine of less than $5,000.
Oh then appealed against the jail term.
At the appeal hearing in October 2024, his lawyer, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, said there was an agreement that the prosecution would ask for a fine if his client pleaded guilty to giving false information to a public servant.
The lawyer questioned why the prosecution changed its stance for the appeal and was seeking to uphold the one-week jail term.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Pei Wei countered that the prosecution is not precluded from defending a court decision that is “legally sound and reasonably defensible”.
On Feb 10, High Court Judge Dedar Singh Gill dismissed Oh’s appeal, saying that the district judge had analysed the facts and the relevant case law correctly.
Justice Gill granted Mr Tan’s request for Oh to speak to family and friends in court.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, an MFA spokesperson said Oh is currently on no-pay leave.
“MFA takes a serious view of any misconduct by our officers and will commence internal disciplinary proceedings now that the court case is concluded,” said the spokesperson.
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.
Oh had sought to use the diplomatic bag service to deliver a package containing luxury watches from China to Singapore for a friend.
The friend, identified in court documents as Ms Jiang Si, was not a diplomat.
On Jan 12, 2023, Oh contacted his colleague, Mr Dion Loke Cheng Wang, who was then attached to the Singapore Embassy in Beijing.
He lied to Mr Loke, claiming that the parents of his friend – a Chinese diplomat – wanted to have “something in a package” delivered to Oh in Singapore.
Oh asked for Mr Loke’s help to send it from Beijing to Singapore via the diplomatic bag service, and Mr Loke agreed to the request.
The package contained 21 luxury watches, a ring and seven children’s books, all of which belonged to Ms Jiang and her partner.
It was found by immigration officers after Mr Loke was stopped for a bag screening.
Asked for an explanation, Oh lied to Mr Ong Eng Chuan, then MFA deputy secretary (management), that the watches belonged to his father.
Oh believed the ministry’s response would be more lenient if he gave this account. He spoke to his father about the incident before e-mailing the false information to Mr Ong.
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau also started an investigation into the case on Jan 19, 2023.
Oh initially stuck to his lies in his first statement, but recanted in his second statement to the bureau the following day.
In April 2024, Oh pleaded guilty to a charge of giving false information to a public servant.
Two other charges – one for abetting the cheating of MFA over his request to courier luxury watches using the diplomatic bag service and one for cheating the ministry over a package of Panadol sent through the service – were taken into consideration.
On Feb 10, in his written judgment, Justice Gill rejected the defence’s argument that the prosecution’s sentencing position in the lower court should be given “due weight”.
He noted that plea agreements are made only between the prosecution and the defence, and that it is ultimately for the court to assess what sentence will be just in the circumstances.
Justice Gill rejected Mr Tan’s argument that the false statement did not contribute or relate to Oh’s attempted misuse of the diplomatic bag service.
He said: “The true nature of the appellant’s attempted misuse and prior misuse of the diplomatic bag service could well have gone undetected due to such a lie, which in turn had the potential to impinge on trust in Singapore’s international relationships if such misuse was allowed to remain undetected.”
Justice Gill added that the district judge was not wrong in finding that Oh’s culpability was high, and that a custodial term was justified.
He noted that Oh’s “self-serving” motive for lying was to reduce any impact on his career progression.
Oh’s act of speaking to his father about the incident before giving the false statement to the MFA was particularly aggravating, he added.
“This was an active and deliberate step taken to bolster his deception, in anticipation of the possibility that the appellant’s father might have to corroborate his lie.”
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
Oh Hin Kwan Gilbert v Public Prosecutor [2025] SGHC 22
734