Corruption and bribery charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) against a former immigration official and his associate are now at Auckland District Court
Meng Yam (Peter) Lim (64) has been charged with four counts of corruption and bribery under Section 105(1) of the Crimes Act and Kooi Leng Pan (64) has been charged with four counts as a party to the same offences under Section 66(1) of the Crimes Act.
Allegations against Mr Lim were first investigated by Immigration New Zealand (INZ). Mr Lim worked as a Border Control Officer following which the matter was referred to SFO for investigation.
SFO alleged that between February and April 2013 Mr Lim colluded with Ms Pan to accept $26,500 from two individuals for the provision of immigration assistance.
SFO Chief Executive Julie Read said, “The acceptance of bribes by a public official is a serious issue. New Zealand has very low levels of corruption and bribery by international standards and it is important that we maintain this good reputation by addressing those instances, which do occur. Cooperation between government agencies in these matters is critical to ensure that we prevent corruption from flourishing and to protect New Zealand’s reputation as a safe place to invest and do business.”
Mr Lim and Ms Pan were remanded without plea; they will appear again on June 9, 2015.
Kooi Leng Pan was born in Malaysia but was given permanent New Zealand residence in 1993. Ms Pan met Mr Lim at Auckland International Airport where she worked previously.
Serious Fraud Office Press Release
