Report Thai Man Jailed in Singapore for Bribery After Public Urination

[snoop1130]

The arrested Thai worker | Photo via The Nation

 

In an unusual turn of events in Singapore, a Thai national found himself sentenced to 10 days in jail after resorting to bribery in an attempt to avoid a fine for public urination. The man, 54-year-old Nanjaijumpa Kham-Ai, pleaded guilty on June 2nd to offering a bribe to auxiliary police officers, a move that backfired significantly.

 

The incident unfolded on the evening of December 17th last year, near Sungei Tengah Lodge in Choa Chu Kang. After finishing his work as a farm worker, a position he had held in Singapore since 2017, Nanjaijumpa cycled to a nearby shop to have his phone repaired, only to discover he didn't have sufficient funds. Opting to relieve himself in a drain before returning to the farm for cash, he didn't anticipate being caught in the process.

 

Auxiliary officers Ong Seng Hock and Prabakar Hisparan, employed by Certis Cisco and working with the National Environment Agency, spotted the act and moved in to address the infringement. After informing Nanjaijumpa of his offence and requesting his identification to issue a fine, the situation took a dramatic turn.

 

Eager to resolve the matter quickly so he could attend to his phone repair before the shop's closing, Nanjaijumpa attempted to persuade the officers in Hokkien, explaining it was common for people to urinate in that area. In a misguided effort to avoid the penalty, he offered Ong US$7 (approximately 177 baht), which Ong refused, clarifying that accepting money was against their regulations. Persisting, Nanjaijumpa made the same offer to Prabakar and even slipped the cash into Prabakar’s sling bag after his initial refusal.

 

Maintaining their integrity, the officers asked Nanjaijumpa to reclaim the money and reiterated that they were public servants who could not accept bribes. Prabakar subsequently called the police, leading to Nanjaijumpa's immediate arrest.

 

In court, aided by a Thai interpreter, Nanjaijumpa expressed his remorse and promised to adhere to local laws in the future. Despite his apology and lack of legal representation, the court took a second similar charge into account during sentencing.

 

Offering a bribe under Singaporean law carries severe penalties, with offenders facing up to five years in jail and fines reaching US$100,000. Nanjaijumpa’s case serves as a stark reminder of the strict enforcement of public conduct and anti-corruption laws within the city-state.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-06-03

 

 

[richard_smith237]

In an unusual turn of events in Singapore, but not unusual in the slightest in Thailand...   Both the public urination and the bribery... 

 

 

[NoDisplayName]

42 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

he offered Ong US$7 (approximately 177 baht), which Ong refused,

 

177 baht = US$5.44 = SG$7.00

 

those found urinating or defecating in public will be fined $300. If convicted in court, offenders can be fined up to $1,000.

 

Cheap ชาร์ลี.

[it is what it is]

...and they complain about the occasional toilet antics of chinese visitors... 

[it is what it is]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

In an unusual turn of events in Singapore, but not unusual in the slightest in Thailand...   Both the public urination and the bribery... 

 

 

 

yes, and no, you step out of line in singapore and it's pretty common for the authorities to come down on you like a ton of bricks... 

[Quentin Zen]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

he offered Ong US$7 (approximately 177 baht), which Ong refused

 

the amount might have had something to do with it.  

 

maybe i'll try 177 next time I don't wear a helmet.   oh wait, i don't have a bike.  anyhow....

[blaze master]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

Opting to relieve himself in a drain before returning to the farm for cash, he didn't anticipate being caught in the process.

 

Of course he didn't.

[oxo1947]

 

Not making excuses for him --but its fact that most Asian countries do not have enough public toilets or public rubbish bins. 

The guy in Pattaya had no excuses , he could have just run into a bar and the price of a soft drink could have used the toilet.

 

I don't know Singapore enough to know  the area that he was in, but a jail sentence seems a little harsh,

he was at least doing it down a drain--unlike our Chinese Tourist , who just squat down and  Key by the side of the road.

[richard_smith237]

50 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

In an unusual turn of events in Singapore, but not unusual in the slightest in Thailand...   Both the public urination and the bribery... 

 

 

 

yes, and no, you step out of line in singapore and it's pretty common for the authorities to come down on you like a ton of bricks... 

 

In an unusual turn of events in Singapore  >>>  that was actually quoting the OP:

 

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

In an unusual turn of events in Singapore, a Thai national found himself sentenced to 10 days in jail after resorting to bribery in an attempt to avoid a fine for public urination.

 

[zz4096]

21 minutes ago, oxo1947 said:

 

Not making excuses for him --but its fact that most Asian countries do not have enough public toilets or public rubbish bins. 

The guy in Pattaya had no excuses , he could have just run into a bar and the price of a soft drink could have used the toilet.

 

I don't know Singapore enough to know  the area that he was in, but a jail sentence seems a little harsh,

he was at least doing it down a drain--unlike our Chinese Tourist , who just squat down and  Key by the side of the road.

 

I  took an overnight bus from Butterworth to Singapore many years ago and they dumped me at the side of the road somewhere. At that exact moment I had a sudden need to drop the transmission so I hightailed to the nearest shopping mall. 

 

Much to my dismay the toilet was manned by an old Chinese dragon lady who wouldn't let me in because I didn't have any Singapore money. Fortunately her kindly old husband took pity on me and waved me through. Of course, there are no squirty bum guns or buckets of water in that fine city and free toilet paper seems to be anathema to them so I had to go back out and throw myself on the old guy's mercy. The dragon was livid when he handed me a few tiny squares of TP.

 

Another time I was at a public toilet near the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and I was suffering from the local version of Bali belly so it was taking a while. Again, no facilities to clean oneself but I had come prepared after my previous traumatic experience 😂

 

Imagine my horror when the computer had decided that I'd taken too much time and flushed the toilet whilst I was still doing my business. I'm surprised an alarm didn't go off as well, or maybe send a signal to the local cop shop. 

 

So I'm not at all surprised that this Thai fella couldn't find a "legal" place to take a whizz in Singapore. That place is barbaric when it comes to toilet facilities, despite the outward appearance of sophistication. God help us if Thailand follows suit (as seems to be happening in a few places in Bangkok).

[josephbloggs]

9 minutes ago, zz4096 said:

 

I  took an overnight bus from Butterworth to Singapore many years ago and they dumped me at the side of the road somewhere. At that exact moment I had a sudden need to drop the transmission so I hightailed to the nearest shopping mall. 

 

Much to my dismay the toilet was manned by an old Chinese dragon lady who wouldn't let me in because I didn't have any Singapore money. Fortunately her kindly old husband took pity on me and waved me through. Of course, there are no squirty bum guns or buckets of water in that fine city and free toilet paper seems to be anathema to them so I had to go back out and throw myself on the old guy's mercy. The dragon was livid when he handed me a few tiny squares of TP.

 

Another time I was at a public toilet near the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and I was suffering from the local version of Bali belly so it was taking a while. Again, no facilities to clean oneself but I had come prepared after my previous traumatic experience 😂

 

Imagine my horror when the computer had decided that I'd taken too much time and flushed the toilet whilst I was still doing my business. I'm surprised an alarm didn't go off as well, or maybe send a signal to the local cop shop. 

 

So I'm not at all surprised that this Thai fella couldn't find a "legal" place to take a whizz in Singapore. That place is barbaric when it comes to toilet facilities, despite the outward appearance of sophistication. God help us if Thailand follows suit (as seems to be happening in a few places in Bangkok).

I don't agree. Not a massive fan of Singapore but there is excellent public toilet availability. There are toilets in every single MRT station, every hawker centre, bus stations, most parks, all shopping malls. I don't think you can ever be far away from one in Singapore.

[NorthernRyland]

Where my wife works in Chiang Mai people constantly park on the side of the road and piss on the wall. This is a pretty major road too. People clearly don't seem to think there's any problem with this.

[Jack1988]

Sometimes i saw thai man pissing on the road. They are drunk, so disgusting 🙄

[zz4096]

7 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

I don't agree. Not a massive fan of Singapore but there is excellent public toilet availability. There are toilets in every single MRT station, every hawker centre, bus stations, most parks, all shopping malls. I don't think you can ever be far away from one in Singapore.

 

Disagree all you want but based on the experiences I described above, I'm never going back there to find out if it's any different. They can keep their 20 dollar beers and automatic flushing toilets with no way to clean your a$$ 😂

[BangkokReady]

45 minutes ago, Jack1988 said:

Sometimes i saw thai man pissing on the road. They are drunk, so disgusting 🙄

 

And more often just a taxi driver (hopefully not drunk).

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

I don't agree. Not a massive fan of Singapore but there is excellent public toilet availability. There are toilets in every single MRT station, every hawker centre, bus stations, most parks, all shopping malls. I don't think you can ever be far away from one in Singapore.

 

I am a fan of Singapore, worked there for years, visted from bkk maybe 20 times as a consultant. Agree, there plenty of very clean toilets available.

 

Further Singaporeans are friendly and helpful, Ask a stranger where can I find a toilet near here will very likely bring instant focused help. 

[josephbloggs]

27 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

I am a fan of Singapore, worked there for years, visted from bkk maybe 20 times as a consultant. Agree, there plenty of very clean toilets available.

 

Further Singaporeans are friendly and helpful, Ask a stranger where can I find a toilet near here will very likely bring instant focused help. 

Yeah, worked there for a while myself and visited probably 20 times like you.

The people are nice and helpful as you say and obviously English is almost universally spoken. I just find the place a bit artificial and mostly it doesn't feel like Asia - I prefer a bit of chaos. And I hate the fact it is so artificially expensive, that's my biggest issue I think. Oh, and the accent.

Nothing against it really, it's just not my favourite place to visit or spend long periods of time in. Give me Bangkok any day.

[NickyLouie]

32 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

I am a fan of Singapore,

 

Ain't nothing nice there , execute ppl for marijuana ....

 

Place is joke oh lah 

[hotchilli]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The man, 54-year-old Nanjaijumpa Kham-Ai, pleaded guilty on June 2nd to offering a bribe to auxiliary police officers, a move that backfired significantly.

Sorry you're not in Thailand now.

[norsurin]

18 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

I don't agree. Not a massive fan of Singapore but there is excellent public toilet availability. There are toilets in every single MRT station, every hawker centre, bus stations, most parks, all shopping malls. I don't think you can ever be far away from one in Singapore.

Ur Rigth.I been working there and its alot of places u can use toilets.The more scary is if they take u throw a cigarette on the street.

[Thingamabob]

Peeing in public and bribing a police officer, he was only doing what comes naturally to most Thai men.

[kingstonkid]

21 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

In an unusual turn of events in Singapore, but not unusual in the slightest in Thailand...   Both the public urination and the bribery... 

 

 

I think even in Thailand he would have been charged and locked up 177 is no enough of a bribe even here

[Reddavy]

22 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The arrested Thai worker | Photo via The Nation

 

In an unusual turn of events in Singapore, a Thai national found himself sentenced to 10 days in jail after resorting to bribery in an attempt to avoid a fine for public urination. The man, 54-year-old Nanjaijumpa Kham-Ai, pleaded guilty on June 2nd to offering a bribe to auxiliary police officers, a move that backfired significantly.

 

The incident unfolded on the evening of December 17th last year, near Sungei Tengah Lodge in Choa Chu Kang. After finishing his work as a farm worker, a position he had held in Singapore since 2017, Nanjaijumpa cycled to a nearby shop to have his phone repaired, only to discover he didn't have sufficient funds. Opting to relieve himself in a drain before returning to the farm for cash, he didn't anticipate being caught in the process.

 

Auxiliary officers Ong Seng Hock and Prabakar Hisparan, employed by Certis Cisco and working with the National Environment Agency, spotted the act and moved in to address the infringement. After informing Nanjaijumpa of his offence and requesting his identification to issue a fine, the situation took a dramatic turn.

 

Eager to resolve the matter quickly so he could attend to his phone repair before the shop's closing, Nanjaijumpa attempted to persuade the officers in Hokkien, explaining it was common for people to urinate in that area. In a misguided effort to avoid the penalty, he offered Ong US$7 (approximately 177 baht), which Ong refused, clarifying that accepting money was against their regulations. Persisting, Nanjaijumpa made the same offer to Prabakar and even slipped the cash into Prabakar’s sling bag after his initial refusal.

 

Maintaining their integrity, the officers asked Nanjaijumpa to reclaim the money and reiterated that they were public servants who could not accept bribes. Prabakar subsequently called the police, leading to Nanjaijumpa's immediate arrest.

 

In court, aided by a Thai interpreter, Nanjaijumpa expressed his remorse and promised to adhere to local laws in the future. Despite his apology and lack of legal representation, the court took a second similar charge into account during sentencing.

 

Offering a bribe under Singaporean law carries severe penalties, with offenders facing up to five years in jail and fines reaching US$100,000. Nanjaijumpa’s case serves as a stark reminder of the strict enforcement of public conduct and anti-corruption laws within the city-state.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-06-03

 

 

A Thai offering a bribe!!!! Shock horror 😱

[soalbundy]

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

I think even in Thailand he would have been charged and locked up 177 is no enough of a bribe even here

OK, I'll take the bribe, now what about the baksheesh.

[NemoH]

How stupid… the fine is just a minor offense compared to bribery…. 
how would Singapore police be persuaded with $7 ? Not even enough for lunch. 🤣🤣🤣

[quake]

That's what happens when bribery / corruption is the norm in your home country.

Got to laugh. 

[TheFishman1]

For a split second he thought he was back in his home country of Thailand we giving a bride as normal urinating outside is normal from the top to bottom it’s corruption where is the Singapore there isn’t so much corruption TIT

[AustinRacing]

You can take a person out of a third world country but you can’t take the third world mentality out of a person. 

[Iron Tongue]

On 6/3/2025 at 4:57 AM, oxo1947 said:

 

I don't know Singapore enough to know  the area that he was in, but a jail sentence seems a little harsh,

 

 

I'm glad you don't run Singapore, because you'd turn it into another Thailand.

 

The issue here is that someone tried to bribe 2 Singaporean law officers.  It doesn't matter what initial contact was for.

He could have gotten years.  

[zz4096]

4 hours ago, AustinRacing said:

You can take a person out of a third world country but you can’t take the third world mentality out of a person. 

 

A man's gotta do what at a man's gotta do. I've urinated in "public" before because there were no toilets nearby and I had to go. Or I was on a train in a "1st world" country that didn't have toilets and I had to p1ss in between the cars, or even worse after they stopped leaving a gap between carriages I had to p1ss in the vestibule area. Hopefully one day you will experience such a lack of toilet facilities and you will p1ss your pants. 

 

FIGJAM waste of time that you are .