Jail for prison officer who took bribes for helping inmate smuggle prohibited items

A prison officer will go from managing inmates to becoming one, after he was jailed for helping an inmate smuggle prohibited items such as medication and lewd pictures into Changi Prison Complex.

- Christine Tan

On Oct 9, Mohammad Asri Abd Rahim, 39, was sentenced to 10 months' jail. The inmate he helped, Mohamad Yusof Kasim, 50, was also jailed for 10 months.

They had pleaded guilty on Sept 5 to multiple charges involving acts of corruption, which took place over almost a year, from August 2021 to June 2022.

Asri, who has since been suspended from duty, was also ordered to pay a penalty of $3,700 - the amount of bribes he received from Yusof through the latter's friends and acquaintances.

One of those friends was Murali Vigneshwaran, 36, who met Yusof while they were incarcerated and helped to give Asri bribes after he was released from jail in December 2021.

On Oct 9, Murali was sentenced to four months’ jail, after he pleaded guilty on Sept 5 to a corruption-linked charge.

“Instead of learning to reform and rehabilitate themselves, they have gone on to re-offend and even corrupted (Asri),” District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam said of Yusof and Murali, who attended court via video-link.

“The accused persons have caused damage and harm to the trust in and the integrity of a public institution, namely the Singapore Prison Service (SPS).”

Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Chia told the court previously that Asri joined SPS in April 2012.