■Five accused of bid to smuggle Chinese into U.S.

Singapore (dpa) - Five people have been hauled into a Singapore court for their alleged involvement in a scam to smuggle Chinese nationals to the United States, it was reported on Saturday. The arrests came after weeks of investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau into an international syndicate which arranged for Chinese to go to the U.S. after bribing airport staff, The Straits Times said. The next court appearance is set for Friday. Among the five was airport police auxiliary officer Vincent Cheong Kiong Heong, 42, facing seven charges of corruption. The others, including two women, face one or two charges. Cheong was accused of accepting 10,000 Singapore dollars (5,555 U.S. dollars) between January and March to allow Chinese nationals to enter the boarding area without checking their documents. One of those he allegedly allowed in was Zou Yanbo, 25, who was sentenced to six months' jail in March for having a forged passport. , Singapore (dpa) - Five people have been hauled into a Singapore court for their alleged involvement in a scam to smuggle Chinese nationals to the United States, it was reported on Saturday. The arrests came after weeks of investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau into an international syndicate which arranged for Chinese to go to the U.S. after bribing airport staff, The Straits Times said. The next court appearance is set for Friday. Among the five was airport police auxiliary officer Vincent Cheong Kiong Heong, 42, facing seven charges of corruption. The others, including two women, face one or two charges. Cheong was accused of accepting 10,000 Singapore dollars (5,555 U.S. dollars) between January and March to allow Chinese nationals to enter the boarding area without checking their documents. One of those he allegedly allowed in was Zou Yanbo, 25, who was sentenced to six months' jail in March for having a forged passport.

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