Mohamed Ali bin Mohamed Iqbal v Public Prosecutor

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Wee Chong Jin CJ
• Judgment Date: 10 January 1979
• Neutral Citation: [1979] SGHC 4
• Docket Number: Magistrate's Appeal No 33 of 1978
• Date: 10 January 1979
• Published date: 19 September 2003
• Year: 1979
• Plaintiff Counsel: JB Jeyaretnam (JB Jeyaretnam & Co)
• Citation: [1979] SGHC 4
• Defendant Counsel: Loke Yoon Kee (Deputy Public Prosecutor)
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Subject Matter: Criminal Law,corruptly obtaining gratification,s 6(a) Prevention of Corruption Act (1970),Prevention of Corruption Act,Act in relation to principal's affairs

Cur Adv Vult

The appellant, Mohamed Ali bin Mohamed Iqbal, was charged and convicted on the following charges:

1 You, Mohamed Ali bin Mohamed Iqbal are charged that you, on or about 13 May 1977, at the Paya Lebar International Airport, Singapore, being an agent, to wit, an Immigration Officer in the employ of the Immigration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore, did corruptly obtain from one Noor Mohammed Iqbal Bin A Rahman for yourself, a gratification of a sum of thirty dollars ($30) as a reward for doing an act in relation to your principal`s affairs, to wit, to supply names of tourists and their places of stay to the said Noor Mohammed Iqbal Bin A Rahman and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under s 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, ch 104.

(2) You, Mohamed Ali bin Mohamed Iqbal are charged that you, on or about the 15 May 1977, at the Paya Lebar International Airport, Singapore, being an agent, to wit, an Immigration Officer in the employ of the Immigration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore, did corruptly obtain from one Noor Mohammed Iqbal Bin A Rahman for yourself, a gratification of a sum of twenty dollars ($20) as a reward for doing an act in relation to your principal`s affairs, to wit, to supply names of tourists and their places of stay to the said Noor Mohammed Iqbal Bin A Rahman and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under s 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, ch 104.`

He now appeals against his convictions. The undisputed facts are these. The appellant was an Immigration Officer attached to the Singapore Airport at all material times. His duties included the checking of incoming passengers` passports and their Disembarkation Forms (known as Immigration Form 23) which incoming passengers had to fill up. Each completed form contains, inter alia, the name, place of stay and duration of stay of each incoming passenger. It was also his duty to collect all the completed Disembarkation Forms from the various counters and sort them out in accordance with flights. The information contained in these forms was for survey and security purposes. There was a standing instruction to all Immigration Officers that the information contained in these forms could not be divulged to members of the public.

On 13 May 1977 and 15 May 1977 the appellant, in the Airport gentlemen`s toilet room, handed to Noor Mohammed Iqbal bin A Rahman, a sales promotion officer...