4 former SMRT bus drivers sentenced to jail for inciting and taking part in illegal strike

Four former SMRT bus drivers have been jailed for inciting and participating in last November's illegal bus strike.

He Jun Ling, 32, was sentenced to seven weeks' jail due to greater culpability while Gao Yue Qiang, 32, Liu Xiangying, 33, and Wang Xian Jie, 39, were sentenced to six weeks' jail each.

The four pleaded guilty today. 

They were arrested by the police in November 2012 for inciting and participating in the illegal strike and had earlier claimed trial with trial dates set for the 4 to 8 March. 

But last Friday, the four men's lawyers said their clients' decision to plead came after prosecution gave an indication of the various sentencing options. 

On 26th November last year, 171 SMRT bus drivers failed to report for duty in a protest over pay and living conditions. 

Eighty-eight of them stayed away from work the next day. 

In December 2012, a SMRT bus driver, Bao Feng Shan, 38, also from China, was sentenced to six weeks' jail for taking part in the same illegal strike.