As I was reading the newspapers again, another newspaper article caught my eye, and this time it titled,"Illegally-modified vehicles: he turns a blind eye, end up in jail". A former principal vehicle inspector who accepted bribes to turn a blind eye to illegal vehicle modifications, who also accused of endangering the public safety on the roads through his actions. Motor vehicles must be sent to be inspected first before being allowed to drive on the roads.
I felt what he did was not only selfish as he endangered other people's lives on the road, but he also have inevitably embarrassed the STA inspection totally, and have also cast doubt on "the integrity of the regulatory framework as a whole." And it is only through his selfish and embarrassing actions that led people not to trust, rely and believe in the STA Car Inspection anymore. This further shows that he was the troublemaker who had made the downfall of the pride and credibility of the STA Inspection, and ought to be responsible for his own actions.
Unbelievably, he even pleaded leniency by claiming that the amount of bribes collected was only a small sum. I feel that he should have thought of the eventual yet dire consequences he will face should he commit an offence to violate the law, and the small amount of bribes he was receiving was just an excuse from saving himself from punishment. He was needless to say, still caught by the long arms of the law and is now facing charges against him for corruption. Senior District Judge Liew Thiam Leng agreed with the conviction and said the implication is that public safety is at stake hence actions must be taken against him. I totally agree with him. The inspector's greedy heart has caused the public safety to be endangered due to the eventual increase in car accident thanks to the illegally-modified vehicles,hence he has to be punished for what he has done
I agree with you that accepting bribes is a very serious offence. This types of acts are not only selfish, but may also affect others around him. I feel that vehicle inspector should not have such a selfish mindset, only thinking for himself and not for others. As you said, his acts may cause danger to the other drivers. However, does he realise it? No, all he cares about is the extra money he would be able to earn from this small tricky "business". If everyone starts behaving like him, our country would fall.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that he was unrepentant for committing the act, he even tried to lower his sentence by giving excuses on how little the bribes were, when in the first place, no bribes should even be accepted in the first place. I think that this article is very good as it makes us reflects on our own actions. Have we done anything to hurt those around us? After reading this article, I have learned to be more selfless and not commit acts which benefits myself but hurts those around me.