SINGAPORE: A Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) director-general who was jailed for lying over the use of a diplomatic bag service was sacked on Thursday (Mar 27).

According to a notice published in the government gazette on Thursday afternoon, Gilbert Oh Hin Kwan was dismissed from the ministry's headquarters.

The 46-year-old pleaded guilty last April to giving false information to a public servant after lying to his superior that luxury watches and other items found in a package belonged to his father.

In the lower court, both the defence and the prosecution had sought only fines. But the district judge found a jail term more appropriate and sentenced him to one week's imprisonment.

Among the reasons cited, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz said the offence risked diminishing the credibility of MFA and the public service as a whole.

Oh then appealed against the sentence, but a High Court judge upheld the ruling on Feb 10. In response to CNA's queries then, the MFA said that Oh was still an officer but on no-pay leave.

In January 2023, Oh had sought to use the diplomatic bag service to convey watches and other items from China to Singapore. The items belonged to Oh's friend in China, and Oh had agreed to help take them to Singapore as a personal favour. 

Diplomatic bags are used to send documents or items for official use. Under the Vienna Convention, they cannot be opened or detained.

Oh had an unwitting colleague help convey the package via the diplomatic bag service on a flight from China to Singapore.  

The colleague ended up carrying the package in his luggage as the diplomatic bag service was suspended at that point, and the package was discovered subsequently. 

Worried about his career progression due to potential disciplinary action, Oh told MFA that the watches belonged to his father, believing that the MFA would be more lenient if he said that.