Security guard in court over $10 'coffee money'

SINGAPORE - A $10 bribe cost former Certis Cisco security guard Kalaiarasan Muniandy his job and landed him in court yesterday, when he was charged with corruption.

The 22-year-old Malaysian allegedly took the "coffee money" from a maid in return for not taking action against her for drinking water at Paya Lebar MRT station on Jan 19.

In court, he indicated that he wished to plead guilty. His case will be mentioned next Friday. The maximum penalty for corruption is a $100,000 fine and five years' jail.

Responding to a media query, Certis Cisco's vice-president of group marketing and corporate communications Richard Lau said: "At Certis Cisco, we train and expect our officers to uphold high standards of professionalism and integrity. We do not tolerate misdemeanour of any kind." The accused's services have been terminated by the company, he said.

Kalaiarasan, who was employed by Certis Cisco's Protection Services, had been attached to SMRT. Part of his duty as a transit security officer was to conduct bag checks on commuters.

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said yesterday it received information from police on Feb 20 alleging that one of its guards had obtained "coffee money" from a maid in return for him doing her a favour.

Further investigation showed Kalaiarasan had spotted Hasna drinking water at the station. He told her she would be issued with a summons of $300 for consuming water. He also recorded her particulars on a bag check list. Hasna could not pay the fine and told Kalaiarasan she had only $10.

He allegedly asked her to place the note on his desk. She was then allowed to leave. Subsequently, he allegedly blotted out her particulars from the list.

This article was published on May 10 in The Straits Times. Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

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Security guard in court over $10 'coffee money'