Court doubles fine for cheating LTA officer

A former Investigation Officer with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) was fined $20,000 for cheating the government agency - an amount double from his initial sentence.

48-year old Charan Singh attempted to deceive the LTA by presenting a fake receipt. This, in a bid to prove that the motorcycle which he bought was not from a dealer he was investigating for road tax offences.

The prosecution appealed, asking for a jail term to demonstrate the seriousness of the case, as well as to act as deterrence. In his argument, Deputy Public Prosecutor Edward Ti said that Singh's acts were "blatantly corrupt", and could tarnish the LTA's reputation and creditibility.

Justice Tay Yong Kwang dismissed a jail term for Singh, but doubled his fine to $20,000 as he felt the former sum was not a good representation of the seriousness of the offence.

Singh could have been jailed for five years, fined up to $100,000, or both.