Ex-Aussie immigration officer gets increased jail term for approving visas to unskilled individuals

A former Australian immigration and border protection officer, who solicited bribes from foreigners in exchange for legitimate skilled migration visas, has had his jail sentence increased by at least 15 months, local media reported on Tuesday.

Filipino-born Alex Escala Allan, who was initially sentenced to eight months at the Brisbane District Court for the offence last year, has had his sentence increased this year after the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions argued in the Court of Appeal that his initial punishment was inadequate.

Justice Margaret McMurdo conceded with the prosecution's argument on Tuesday, saying that Allan had seriously betrayed the trust of the community by accepting bribes, despite having a well-paid secured job.

It was earlier reported that Allan have received more than 560,000 Australian dollars (426,686 U.S. dollars) in bribes from 59 individuals mainly from his homeland the Philippines and Vietnam.

Out of all the money he received in bribes, about 142,000 Australian dollars (108,195 U.S. dollars) is still missing, authorities say.

Allan who pleaded guilty to the offence admitted that he had accepted the bribes in order to ease his financial burdens.

He was believed to have committed the offence for eight months up till March 2014 before he was caught out by an immigration inspector at the Brisbane's international airport, who noticed that the language skills and occupations of the two people did not match visa requirements set out by the federal government.

Allan's case has been previously described by the media as the largest corruption scandal ever to hit the Australian Immigration Department, prompting a major overhaul of the visa approval processes since.

Allan mischief started when he had approved visas for 17 of his family members from the Philippines before he was approached by Minh Huy Lam, who knew of his vices and had threatened to expose his crimes unless he did the same for 42 unskilled individuals from Vietnam. Endit