MFA official appeals against jail sentence over diplomatic bag misuse

An appeal by Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) director-general Gilbert Oh Hin Kwan against his jail sentence has been adjourned by the High Court.

- Wong Shiying

This is to allow lawyers on both sides to clarify the terms which led to the 45-year-old pleading guilty.

Oh pleaded guilty in April to a charge of giving false information to a public servant. He faces another two charges - abetting the cheating of MFA over his request to courier luxury watches using the diplomatic bag service and cheating the ministry over a package of Panadol sent through the service.

He was sentenced in May to a week in jail, after District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz disagreed with recommendations from the prosecution and defence for a fine.

The prosecution had sought a fine of between $6,000 and $9,000, while Oh's previous defence team had asked for a fine of less than $5,000.

The two cheating-related charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, who was arguing Oh's appeal on Oct 1, said there was an agreement that the prosecution would ask for a fine if the MFA official pleaded guilty to giving false information to a public servant.

He produced two letters from the prosecution, which Mr Tan said made this clear.

He asked why the prosecution had changed its stance from a fine to upholding the one-week jail term.