Three managers from Vietnam Airlines in Singapore have been charged with corruption for allegedly accepting bribes in connection with excess baggage fees. The charges were announced by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on July 23.

The individuals charged include Amir Khan Bin Shoul Hamid, a 42-year-old Singaporean who was the acting or deputy airport operations manager at Vietnam Airlines at the time of the offenses. Also charged are Le Trac Tuan, a 48-year-old Vietnamese airport operations manager, and Lam Anh Viet, a 52-year-old Vietnamese branch manager of Vietnam Airlines.

According to CPIB, from 2020 to 2022, Amir allegedly accepted bribes totaling 41,000 SGD (approximately 840 million VND) from Truong Thi Nhung, a 49-year-old Vietnamese national, and Poh Boon Leong, a 51-year-old Singaporean. These payments were intended as kickbacks to avoid collecting excess baggage fees that the two individuals were supposed to pay.

In June 2022, Amir faced another allegation of accepting a bribe of 700 SGD (over 14 million VND) from Nhung for the same purpose. In 2023, Tuan was also accused of accepting multiple bribes totaling 6,500 SGD (132 million VND) from Nhung to overlook excess baggage fees.

Furthermore, in two separate incidents in 2023, Tuan allegedly bribed Lam Anh Viet with a total of 3,000 SGD (nearly 62 million VND) to prevent reporting his acceptance of bribes from Nhung to the company.

Under Singapore law, individuals involved in bribery can face up to five years in prison, fines up to 100,000 SGD (over 2 billion VND), or both. The case is scheduled for its next court hearing on August 20.