A former immigration official and his associate have pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court on July 22, 2015 to corruption and bribery charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
Meng Yam (Peter) Lim pleaded guilty to four charges of corruption and bribery of an official and Kooi Leng Pan pleaded guilty to four charges as a party to the same offences.
An internal investigation at Immigration New Zealand was referred to the SFO in August 2013.
Mr Lim worked as a Border Control Officer and between February and April 2013. He is alleged to have colluded with Ms Pan to corruptly accept $26,500 from two individuals, purportedly for the provision of immigration assistance.
Bad for business
SFO Chief Executive Julie Read said, “Bribery is bad for New Zealand businesses and citizens and bad for ‘New Zealand Inc.’ This is plain in the case where a bribe is paid to secure a contract; but a bribe paid to circumvent the rules also causes significant harm.
“The rules, whether they are about immigration or anything else, are intended to apply to everyone equally. Circumvention of the rules undermines any fairness in society. The SFO is committed to ensuring that corruption does not flourish and will pursue cases such as this to send that message to all those who may be tempted to engage in corrupt conduct.”
The Court heard that Meng was a Border Immigration Officer at Auckland International Airport and his role involved a high level of passenger and interagency interaction.
This included having an internal relationship with Immigration and Visa Officers. Typical activity with this role included interviewing passengers and gathering information to verify or determine whether a person met the entry requirements for New Zealand.
Mr Lim is originally from Singapore and has been in New Zealand for approximately 40 years.
Ms Pan was born in Malaysia but was given permanent New Zealand residency in 1993 and had previously worked at Auckland International Airport where she knew Mr Lim.
Both will reappear for sentencing on September 10, 2015.
Serious Fraud Office Press Release
