Fare Evasion is hard to seek redress, Police also no wish to waste resources to handle such cases.
We should petition LTA to have all PHV Operator to cancel Cash option, payment must be linked to a Card (Visa/Master)
-
IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here. The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.
Do you have trust in the Singapore police force?
- Thread starter LITTLEREDDOT
- Start date
Fare Evasion is hard to seek redress, Police also no wish to waste resources to handle such cases.
We should petition LTA to have all PHV Operator to cancel Cash option, payment must be linked to a Card (Visa/Master)
Jail for ex-cop who helped friend by conducting screening on confidential police database
Bryan Tay Wei Chuan was sentenced to three weeks’ jail on Tuesday. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
July 3, 2023
SINGAPORE - A police officer accessed a confidential database at his workplace without authorisation and helped his friend by conducting a screening on another man.
Bryan Tay Wei Chuan later told his friend, Lincoln Poh Chong Tee, about what he discovered and in doing so, Tay breached the trust placed in him as a police officer.
Tay, 30, was sentenced to three weeks’ jail on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty two charges – an offence under the Official Secrets Act and accessing the Cubicon II computer database system without authority.
The police said in an earlier statement that he was suspended from service in August 2021 and had resigned from the force soon after.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said that Tay, who was a sergeant grade 2 at the time, also undermined the reputation of the Singapore Police Force.
Poh, then 26, was sentenced to a year in jail in September 2022 after he pleaded guilty to five charges that included cheating and abetting the unauthorised use of the police database.
Tay and Poh had become friends in or around February 2020. On March 18 that year, Poh contacted Tay and asked him to perform a screening to check for possible ongoing police cases linked to Wang Yu Chi, also known as Raymond.
Poh and Tay later went to a food centre where they met Wang, whose details were not disclosed in court documents.
DPP Lim said: “Wang told (Tay) that someone had made a police report concerning Wang’s company, and Wang wanted to check if he was implicated.”
On March 24, 2020, Tay was performing counter duties at Sembawang Neighbourhood Police Centre when he logged into Cubicon II after seeing that no one else was around.
He then conducted a screening based on Wang’s NRIC information and found out that there were no records against the latter.
Tay immediately sent a WhatsApp message to Poh stating: “His record is clean.”
But it turned out that Poh and Wang were then planning a scam, the court heard during earlier proceedings in 2022.
In October 2020, Wang contacted a 33-year-old woman and struck an agreement to exchange $150,000 worth of yuan.
Poh then prepared $150,000 in cash that included sums of money that his friends had entrusted to him to invest in Bitcoin.
Tay was among the friends whom Poh had cheated to raise the money he needed for his scam. Tay had given Poh $25,000 after he was falsely promised profits for Bitcoin investments.
In the same month, Wang facilitated a meeting between the woman and two of Poh’s friends who held the Singapore currency.
As part of a plan, the two friends fled during the meeting and boarded a bus.
The woman, whose husband was with her at the time, chased after the pair in a taxi and caught up with them.
The police were alerted and Poh’s two friends were arrested. The friends were dealt with in court earlier.
Officers arrested Tay on Jan 24, 2022. Court documents did not disclose the outcome of Wang’s case.
"Devices like mobile phones and laptops may also be seized as evidence during the process."
So why weren't K Shanmugam's and Vivian Balakrishnan's mobile phones and laptops seized for investigation into the Ridout bungalow discount rental corruption case?
Those familiar with investigations by CPIB say witnesses and accused persons can be questioned for hours at its building in Lengkok Bahru. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
JUL 30, 2023
SINGAPORE – Transport Minister S. Iswaran was at the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) headquarters for about 10 hours on July 18, a week after he was arrested in a corruption probe that also involves tycoon Ong Beng Seng.
Those familiar with investigations by the anti-graft body say witnesses and accused persons can be questioned for hours at its building in Lengkok Bahru. Devices like mobile phones and laptops may also be seized as evidence during the process.
At these interviews, investigators may record a cautioned statement, which spells out the offence the CPIB is looking into. This statement is necessary when an individual is to be charged.
Lawyer Andy Yeo told The Sunday Times that an accused person is formally confronted with a copy of the charge during a lengthy process where he is given one more chance to respond to it.
Mr Yeo said: “If he doesn’t outline his defence at this stage, then he might be less likely to be believed subsequently.”
If there is enough evidence after the statement is recorded, the interviewee may be placed under arrest and released on bail.
“Bail is usually given and seldom denied,” said Mr Yeo.
The only time bail is denied is when the accused is a flight risk or threatens to harm a witness, or when there is continuing investigations into a wider scope of charges or for serious cases like rape, kidnapping or murder.
Mr Iswaran and Mr Ong are both currently released on bail. They had to surrender their passports, the CPIB had said earlier.
ST spoke to three people who were called in over corruption allegations, and lawyers who had clients who were investigated by the anti-graft body.
They spoke of invitations by “Uncle Sam” to the “White House” – a moniker the bureau earned for keeping Singapore clean of corruption – to “lim kopi” (drink coffee), which means an interview.
Those who have been to the headquarters say there is an actual “lim kopi” sign in the building.
The CPIB decided to rename a meeting room at the Lengkok Bahru premises as “Lim’s Kopi”. PHOTO: CPIB
Lawyer S. Balamurugan said he had clients who were called in for interviews that stretched for more than four hours.
“(It) could be due to the complexity of the cases, the number of witnesses, and because the investigators had to go through voluminous documents or forensic documents, essentially the details,” said Mr Balamurugan.
He had at least 10 clients who were interviewed by the CPIB in his 23 years of practice.
Another senior lawyer, who asked not to be named, said investigators could also interview several people linked to the case at the same time.
“Most times, there are simultaneous interviews going on in different rooms,” said the lawyer.
“They cross-check (information), they wait and then verify information... Another reason why it takes time is because they are screening your phone and looking at messages before they ask you questions,” said the lawyer with more than 20 years of experience.
Former Fifa referee T. Rajamanickam was investigated for corruption in 1994 over a football match Singapore played against Kelantan in April that year.
He said officers searched his home and later took him to the CPIB office, which was then in Hill Street.
“I was taken into a small air-conditioned room, where, for the next 12 hours, I was interviewed by a few investigating officers (IOs),” said Mr Rajamanickam, 72.
In that period, he was given “kopi” and fed. Different IOs interviewed him several times, often asking the same questions in different ways.
“I was not fearful,” Mr Rajamanickam said, adding that he did not think he was involved in match fixing.
But he later admitted in a signed statement that he had received $1,000 from a known bookie and businessman, Mr Rajendran R. Kurusamy, then 34.
Former Singapore football international K. Kannan (left) and former referee T Rajamanickam, whose life bans were lifted by the Football Association of Singapore on March 15, 2022. PHOTO: V.K. SANTOSH KUMAR
Mr Rajamanickam pleaded guilty to receiving the money for arranging for Malaysian soccer referee K. Nadarajan to be lenient to the Singapore team in a Premier League match against Kelantan. Singapore won 1-0.
In October 1994, Mr Rajamanickam was sentenced to eight months’ jail and fined $1,000 for accepting $1,000 as a bribe. A second charge of corruptly receiving RM 5,000 (S$1,450) from Mr Rajendran was taken into consideration.
He was also handed a lifetime ban from all football activities and deregistered from the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) referees’ list in 1994. FAS lifted his ban on March 15, 2022.
“It’s very sad because today I could have been riding high in Fifa... giving lectures or being a match commissioner at one of the World Cups,” he said.
In the CPIB’s 70-year history, its officers have interviewed people from all walks of life – from businessmen to forklift drivers to powerful people, including ministers.
The bureau, which was set up in 1952, also investigates complaints from anonymous sources.
In 2022, of the 234 corruption-related reports it received, 100 – or 43 per cent – were anonymous.
The CPIB previously said it assesses anonymous reports based on the merit of the information provided. Of the 83 cases registered for investigation in 2022, 13 cases – or 16 per cent – came from anonymous sources.
Most cases the anti-graft body investigated in 2022 were from the private sector. Public-sector-originating cases accounted for 14 per cent of all cases registered for investigation that year.
The conviction rate for CPIB cases is above the 95th percentile. In 2022, it was 99 per cent.
On its website, the anti-graft body said: “The consistently high conviction rate for CPIB cases is testament to the quality of the bureau’s investigation to be able to stand up to scrutiny in court, as well as the close working relationship between CPIB and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in bringing corrupt offenders to task.”
So why weren't K Shanmugam's and Vivian Balakrishnan's mobile phones and laptops seized for investigation into the Ridout bungalow discount rental corruption case?
What it means to have an hours-long ‘lim kopi’ at S’pore’s CPIB
Those familiar with investigations by CPIB say witnesses and accused persons can be questioned for hours at its building in Lengkok Bahru. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
JUL 30, 2023
SINGAPORE – Transport Minister S. Iswaran was at the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) headquarters for about 10 hours on July 18, a week after he was arrested in a corruption probe that also involves tycoon Ong Beng Seng.
Those familiar with investigations by the anti-graft body say witnesses and accused persons can be questioned for hours at its building in Lengkok Bahru. Devices like mobile phones and laptops may also be seized as evidence during the process.
At these interviews, investigators may record a cautioned statement, which spells out the offence the CPIB is looking into. This statement is necessary when an individual is to be charged.
Lawyer Andy Yeo told The Sunday Times that an accused person is formally confronted with a copy of the charge during a lengthy process where he is given one more chance to respond to it.
Mr Yeo said: “If he doesn’t outline his defence at this stage, then he might be less likely to be believed subsequently.”
If there is enough evidence after the statement is recorded, the interviewee may be placed under arrest and released on bail.
“Bail is usually given and seldom denied,” said Mr Yeo.
The only time bail is denied is when the accused is a flight risk or threatens to harm a witness, or when there is continuing investigations into a wider scope of charges or for serious cases like rape, kidnapping or murder.
Mr Iswaran and Mr Ong are both currently released on bail. They had to surrender their passports, the CPIB had said earlier.
ST spoke to three people who were called in over corruption allegations, and lawyers who had clients who were investigated by the anti-graft body.
They spoke of invitations by “Uncle Sam” to the “White House” – a moniker the bureau earned for keeping Singapore clean of corruption – to “lim kopi” (drink coffee), which means an interview.
Those who have been to the headquarters say there is an actual “lim kopi” sign in the building.
The CPIB decided to rename a meeting room at the Lengkok Bahru premises as “Lim’s Kopi”. PHOTO: CPIB
Lawyer S. Balamurugan said he had clients who were called in for interviews that stretched for more than four hours.
“(It) could be due to the complexity of the cases, the number of witnesses, and because the investigators had to go through voluminous documents or forensic documents, essentially the details,” said Mr Balamurugan.
He had at least 10 clients who were interviewed by the CPIB in his 23 years of practice.
Another senior lawyer, who asked not to be named, said investigators could also interview several people linked to the case at the same time.
“Most times, there are simultaneous interviews going on in different rooms,” said the lawyer.
“They cross-check (information), they wait and then verify information... Another reason why it takes time is because they are screening your phone and looking at messages before they ask you questions,” said the lawyer with more than 20 years of experience.
Former Fifa referee T. Rajamanickam was investigated for corruption in 1994 over a football match Singapore played against Kelantan in April that year.
He said officers searched his home and later took him to the CPIB office, which was then in Hill Street.
“I was taken into a small air-conditioned room, where, for the next 12 hours, I was interviewed by a few investigating officers (IOs),” said Mr Rajamanickam, 72.
In that period, he was given “kopi” and fed. Different IOs interviewed him several times, often asking the same questions in different ways.
“I was not fearful,” Mr Rajamanickam said, adding that he did not think he was involved in match fixing.
But he later admitted in a signed statement that he had received $1,000 from a known bookie and businessman, Mr Rajendran R. Kurusamy, then 34.
Former Singapore football international K. Kannan (left) and former referee T Rajamanickam, whose life bans were lifted by the Football Association of Singapore on March 15, 2022. PHOTO: V.K. SANTOSH KUMAR
Mr Rajamanickam pleaded guilty to receiving the money for arranging for Malaysian soccer referee K. Nadarajan to be lenient to the Singapore team in a Premier League match against Kelantan. Singapore won 1-0.
In October 1994, Mr Rajamanickam was sentenced to eight months’ jail and fined $1,000 for accepting $1,000 as a bribe. A second charge of corruptly receiving RM 5,000 (S$1,450) from Mr Rajendran was taken into consideration.
He was also handed a lifetime ban from all football activities and deregistered from the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) referees’ list in 1994. FAS lifted his ban on March 15, 2022.
“It’s very sad because today I could have been riding high in Fifa... giving lectures or being a match commissioner at one of the World Cups,” he said.
In the CPIB’s 70-year history, its officers have interviewed people from all walks of life – from businessmen to forklift drivers to powerful people, including ministers.
The bureau, which was set up in 1952, also investigates complaints from anonymous sources.
In 2022, of the 234 corruption-related reports it received, 100 – or 43 per cent – were anonymous.
The CPIB previously said it assesses anonymous reports based on the merit of the information provided. Of the 83 cases registered for investigation in 2022, 13 cases – or 16 per cent – came from anonymous sources.
Most cases the anti-graft body investigated in 2022 were from the private sector. Public-sector-originating cases accounted for 14 per cent of all cases registered for investigation that year.
The conviction rate for CPIB cases is above the 95th percentile. In 2022, it was 99 per cent.
On its website, the anti-graft body said: “The consistently high conviction rate for CPIB cases is testament to the quality of the bureau’s investigation to be able to stand up to scrutiny in court, as well as the close working relationship between CPIB and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in bringing corrupt offenders to task.”
Virgin Auntie.. Sound familiar sia
The Police should take the word of Taxi/PHV driver at face value, immediate detain passenger in lockup when driver send passenger to the nearest Police Station
It is require for the Passenger to prove the fare has been paid, If passenger no money, he/she should be in lockup until their next-of-kin arrive & paid up fare.
To ensure better result, if Work Permit holder fare evasion, he/she be in immediate lockup until his Employer arrive & paid up his fare.
If LTA/Police still too lazy to implement above, at least force all Platform Operator to remove Cash Payment option in their App
3 years’ jail for senior cop who pocketed victim’s restitution money to pay for his holidays
Mohamed Mohamed Jalil pleaded guilty to three charges of criminal breach of trust by misappropriation as a public servant. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
Nadine Chua
Sep 22, 2023
SINGAPORE – A senior police officer was sentenced to three years’ jail after taking $43,000 worth of restitution money meant for a victim in a case he was investigating.
On Friday, Mohamed Mohamed Jalil, 54, a senior station inspector with the Singapore Police Force (SPF), pleaded guilty to three charges of criminal breach of trust by misappropriation as a public servant.
At the time of his offences, Mohamed, who joined the SPF in May 1989, was attached to the investigation branch of Tanglin Division.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yee Jia Rong said in March 2012, a woman, D, made a police report claiming her housemate, T, had pawned jewellery D had asked her to clean.
D also claimed T used money that D gave her for investment opportunities for her own purposes.
Mohamed was the investigation officer for this case.
Between April 2012 and March 2013, he told T she needed to make restitution of around $80,000 for the jewellery and money she got from D.
But Mohamed did this without the approval from SPF management or from the Attorney-General’s Chambers to arrange for restitution to be paid.
DPP Yee said Mohamed knew he needed approval before making such arrangements.
The DPP added that T trusted Mohamed and agreed to pay the amount.
Between March 2013 and November 2017, Mohamed collected $43,000 from T and her husband, on the basis that the money was to be given to D as restitution.
Mohamed initially received the cash from the couple at Tanglin Division.
He later arranged for the money to be transferred to his personal bank account, or physically collected it from various locations, such as carparks near Bedok Reservoir, T’s home and Novena Square.
Instead of passing the money to D, Mohamed used it to make rental payments and maintenance payments to his former wife, and for his vacations in the Philippines.
His offences were discovered when D’s daughter told the SPF in 2020 that Mohamed had returned some of the misappropriated jewellery to D and her family without proper documentation.
She said her mother had been unable to contact Mohamed since 2019 to follow up on the restitution money.
Mohamed was suspended from the SPF in July 2020.
The Straits Times has asked the SPF about whether further disciplinary action has been taken against Mohamed, and if he is still a police officer.
Seeking three years’ jail for Mohamed, DPP Yee said the hard-won reputation of law enforcement agencies cannot be taken for granted and must be protected.
He said: “Thus, in cases such as the present (one), where a law enforcement officer abuses the colour of his position and breaches public trust, severe punishment is necessary to reflect the damage inflicted to the standing of the institution that he represents.”
Mohamed, who was unrepresented, pleaded for leniency in mitigation.
District Judge Brenda Chua said his offences were serious and involved a significant amount of money.
She said: “As a law enforcement officer, the accused did not uphold the law, but instead used his position to commit the offences. The SPF needs to be protected from conduct of this nature.”
Man accused of slapping woman’s buttock has molestation charge compounded
Paul Lim Choon Wui, who was given a discharge amounting to an acquittal, had been accused of molesting the victim in 2022. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
Oct 2, 2023
SINGAPORE - A man who was accused of molestation after he allegedly slapped a woman’s buttock had his charge compounded, the terms of which were not mentioned in court.
Mr Paul Lim Choon Wui, a Cambridge master’s degree holder and former commander of Tanglin Police Division, also apologised over the incident on Monday.
Addressing the court, the 52-year-old said: “I’m sorry to the complainant for the distress caused.”
Under the law, only certain offences can be compounded, such as simple cases of causing hurt and outrage of modesty.
Compounding an offence requires an agreement with the victim to have the matter compensated, usually with a payment or an apology.
The public prosecutor will consider the public interest, circumstances of the offence and whether there are any aggravating factors, before agreeing to the terms.
Mr Lim, who was given a discharge amounting to an acquittal, which means he cannot be charged again with the same offence, had been accused of molesting the victim in 2022.
He is said to have used his left hand to slap a 25-year-old woman’s left buttock in a unit of a building in Bukit Merah at around 9pm on July 7 that year.
Mr Lim, who was the commander of Tanglin Police Division about 10 years ago, had left the police force by then.
The former policeman, who was represented by lawyer Adrian Wee from Lighthouse Law, declined to comment.
Mr Lim held various positions in the Singapore Police Force between 1990 and 2010 before joining security solutions provider Secura Group, where he was chief executive.
He left the firm in October 2017, citing the pursuit of personal interests as the reason.
Offenders convicted of molestation can be jailed for up to three years, fined or caned, or receive any combination of such punishments.
CNB officer allegedly lied to cop, judge over then colleague’s assault on drug offender
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
Oct 8, 2023
SINGAPORE – A Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officer allegedly lied to a policewoman in 2018 that his then colleague did not assault a drug offender, and gave a similar false account to a district judge in 2021.
Muhammad Heykal Rahman, 34, was charged last Wednesday with one count each of furnishing false information to a public servant, and giving false evidence before District Judge Salina Ishak at the State Courts in the case of Vengedesh Raj Nainar Nagarajan.
Vengedesh was under the influence of alcohol when he assaulted Malaysian drug offender Sivabalan Kanniappan to get a confession on Jan 2, 2017.
After Vengedesh was sentenced in 2022, Heykal was investigated for allegedly lying to a policewoman at the Central Police Divisional Headquarters on March 21, 2018.
He is accused of stating that Vengedesh did not assault Sivabalan in a toilet at the CNB office at Woodlands Checkpoint.
Heykal allegedly told a similar lie to Judge Salina during Vengedesh’s trial on May 6, 2021.
In a statement to The Straits Times on Monday, CNB did not state if Heykal is still an officer with the bureau, but said it had investigated the complaint against Vengedesh and referred the case to the police for a criminal investigation.
A CNB spokesperson added that following Vengedesh’s conviction and sentencing, the Attorney-General’s Chambers directed the police to further investigate Heykal’s conduct during the probe into Vengedesh’s case and trial.
The spokesperson said: “CNB officers are expected to maintain a high standard of integrity, and we do not condone actions that fall short of CNB’s high standard of professionalism. Officers who break the law will be dealt with, in accordance with the law.
“As court proceedings against Heykal are ongoing, we are unable to comment further.”
The case has been adjourned to November.
In proceedings over Vengedesh’s offences, the prosecution said in its submissions that Sivabalan was stopped for an inspection when he entered Singapore through the Woodlands Checkpoint at around 3.40am on Jan 2, 2017.
A blue bundle, suspected to contain controlled drugs, was found in a raincoat bag in the rear box of his motorcycle.
He was handed over to the CNB Woodlands team and an officer recorded a statement from him.
Sivabalan later provided a urine sample and Vengedesh, then a corporal with the bureau, was activated to attend to the case.
The court heard that Sivabalan noticed Vengedesh reeked of alcohol. The two men went to a toilet where Vengedesh spoke to Sivabalan. He later assaulted the Malaysian to get a confession from him.
Vengedesh’s offences came to light after doctors examined Sivabalan, who had complained of pain in his body, including in his left lower ribs. He then revealed that he had been assaulted.
In April 2022, Deputy Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok said in court documents: “Far from upholding the integrity of his profession, (Vengedesh) deliberately chose to use violence, and the fear of violence, as a means of extorting a confession from the helpless, handcuffed victim before him.
“This blatant violation of the sanctity and primacy of the rule of law in criminal proceedings must be met with an equally clear deterrent signal.”
Vengedesh, then 35, was sentenced to five years’ jail in April 2022 after Judge Salina convicted him of three counts of voluntarily causing hurt to extort a confession from Sivabalan.
He was also ordered to give Sivabalan, then 34, a compensation of $4,500 for the latter’s pain and suffering.
Sivabalan was convicted of drug offences and sentenced to 15 years’ jail and 13 strokes of the cane.
SCDF officer to be charged over death of NSF who was allegedly left alone to fight fire
The SCDF officer had allegedly left Sergeant 1 Edward H Go (left) alone in a unit in Block 91 Henderson Road to fight the ongoing fire, without informing anyone. PHOTOS: OBITS.SG, SCDF
Joyce Teo
Senior Correspondent
Oct 14, 2023
SINGAPORE – The superior of a 19-year-old full-time national serviceman (NSF) who suffocated to death after a firefighting operation at a Henderson Road Housing Board flat will be charged on Monday.
The NSF is the first firefighter to have died during a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighting operation.
In a statement on Saturday, the Singapore Police Force said the 38-year-old SCDF officer had allegedly left the NSF, Sergeant 1 Edward H. Go, alone in a unit in Block 91 on Dec 8, 2022, to fight the ongoing fire without informing anyone. This went against standard procedures.
The SCDF officer will be charged with causing grievous hurt by a rash act which endangers life or the personal safety of others. If convicted, the offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to four years, or a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
The autopsy certified that Sgt 1 Go died of suffocation due to a depleted air cylinder. The police said investigations did not find any evidence to suggest Sgt 1 Go’s death was due to equipment failure.
Speaking to the press on Saturday at SCDF’s headquarters in Ubi, SCDF Commissioner Eric Yap said that the officer to be charged went against SCDF’s firefighting doctrine by leaving Sgt 1 Go alone in the flat.
Separately, the police have referred another officer to SCDF for investigations related to the same incident.
This officer allegedly failed to adequately ensure the overall safety of the firefighting operation when he subsequently arrived and took over command and control of the incident, said SCDF.
In the interim, SCDF has redeployed the officer to a non-supervisory and non-operational post.
After the incident, SCDF conducted a thorough review of its firefighting procedures, operational safety, equipping and training.
The review found that SCDF doctrine on firefighting is consistently and systematically taught to officers and is practised on the ground, said Mr Yap.
“Nevertheless, we have reviewed the selection and training of our ground commanders. This includes conducting exercises to stress test their command and control abilities,” he added.
As part of the review, SCDF also audited more than 260 firefighting operations conducted between January 2021 and December 2022 to assess if they had appropriate command and control with safety for officers. The audit found that the operations were competent and safe, but there were occasional individual lapses.
These lapses are not uncommon in a dynamic situation like a firefighting operation. But to minimise them, Mr Yap said SCDF has tightened measures, including making sure that equipment is checked upon arrival before entering the site of a fire.
For larger and more complex fires, SCDF’s firefighting doctrine already requires the establishment of a staging and breathing apparatus control officer control point to help monitor the deployment of firefighters, and to check on their personal protective equipment before they enter the scene of the fire, he said.
Since Sept 18, 2023, SCDF has introduced the same control point for smaller fires, like residential unit fires, to strengthen command and control, and safety, he said.
Mr Yap said SCDF will continue to provide Sgt 1 Go’s family with the assistance they need. “It is especially painful because we have lost a colleague, and the SCDF has never lost anyone in a firefighting operation before this incident.”
Sgt 1 Go’s family has been informed about the planned charge against the officer and the autopsy findings.
A board of inquiry will be convened to investigate the death of Sgt 1 Go, who fell unconscious in the kitchen of the fourth-floor flat when putting out the fire.
A statement from SCDF after the incident said that his crew immediately took him out of the unit and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him.
An SCDF ambulance crew at the scene also used an automated external defibrillator on him and took him to Singapore General Hospital. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
The 19-year-old had fared well in other mandatory course requirements and attended to nearly 60 fire and rescue calls after he was posted to the Central Fire Station in May 2022.
He was also certified medically fit before his enlistment and categorised under the physical employment standard (PES) as PES A. Servicemen in this category are considered suitable for front-line operational vocations such as firefighting.
Sgt 1 Go attained a gold standard in his Individual Physical Proficiency Test and an A grade in his Breathing Apparatus Proficiency Test – both of which are tests that all NSFs must go through before they can be deployed as firefighters.
Everytime limpeh makes a police Lee port, my confidence in the incompetence increases.
Ex-Changi Airport auxiliary cop jailed 13 months for using cards from lost wallets
Giong Chun Yong pleaded guilty to three charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust by a public servant. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Christine Tan
FEB 28, 2024
SINGAPORE – Instead of reporting two lost wallets that he came across, an auxiliary police officer working at Changi Airport went on a shopping spree with the credit and debit cards found in them.
On Feb 28, Giong Chun Yong, 46, was sentenced to 13 months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to three charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust by a public servant.
Three other charges of cheating and dishonest misappropriation of property were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Giong was an armed auxiliary officer with the Singapore Airport Terminal Services (Sats) at the time of the offences.
The first offence happened on July 19, 2023, at around 7am. Giong was on his way back to the control room at the end of his shift at Terminal 3 when he saw a brown wallet under one of the seats along the boarding gates and pocketed it.
The wallet belonged to a Bulgarian woman who had landed at Changi Airport the previous day.
On his way home, Giong looked through the wallet and found cash and two credit cards from Westpac, a financial institution that provides services in various countries, including New Zealand.
He removed the cash and cards and threw away the wallet.
The same day, he used one of the cards to buy items such as watches, a mobile phone and a mountain bicycle.
He also purchased groceries and furniture items, and a gold baby anklet. In total, he spent about NZ$2,285 (S$1,967).
Giong also spent about $72 on drinks and groceries with the other credit card.
The Bulgarian woman made a police report after receiving multiple notifications from her bank about numerous transactions made with her credit cards.
Four days after he found the first wallet, Giong was working at Terminal 3 when a member of the public handed him a grey wallet that had been found.
Giong checked through the wallet and took one debit card. He then passed the wallet back to the member of the public, who did not see him taking the card, and asked the latter to leave the wallet with the staff at the information counter.
After work that day, he used the debit card to buy his wife birthday gifts worth $726 from jewellery brand Pandora, then threw the card away.
The debit card and grey wallet belonged to a retail assistant at the airport’s departure terminal. The police were notified when he realised his wallet was missing.
Giong was arrested on Oct 9, 2023. He has since made full restitution to both victims. ST understands he resigned from Sats in November 2023.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Kai asked for between 14 and 18 months’ jail for Giong, noting that general deterrence is the primary sentencing principle for such cases.
Giong, who did not have a lawyer and went to court with his wife, pleaded for leniency through a Mandarin interpreter.
He said he was the sole breadwinner in the family, and their finances were tight, as his wife recently lost almost $50,000 in a scam.
During his mitigation, both Giong and his wife were wiping away tears.
Addressing Giong before handing down his sentence, District Judge Kok Shu-En said: “The offences you have committed are serious offences.
“It is aggravating that you were an auxiliary police officer. So you really should have known better.”
For each count of cheating, Giong could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
The offence of criminal breach of trust by a public servant carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine.
Sometimes, poor people really do find all sorts of ways to fuck themselves so that they are in a perpetual poor state.
Still so stylo?
What kind of fucking surname is Giong ? Is it 姜 like my mei mei's surname ? Is this fucker a honkee ?Ex-Changi Airport auxiliary cop jailed 13 months for using cards from lost wallets
Giong Chun Yong pleaded guilty to three charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust by a public servant. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Christine Tan
FEB 28, 2024
SINGAPORE – Instead of reporting two lost wallets that he came across, an auxiliary police officer working at Changi Airport went on a shopping spree with the credit and debit cards found in them.
On Feb 28, Giong Chun Yong, 46, was sentenced to 13 months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to three charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust by a public servant.
Three other charges of cheating and dishonest misappropriation of property were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Giong was an armed auxiliary officer with the Singapore Airport Terminal Services (Sats) at the time of the offences.
The first offence happened on July 19, 2023, at around 7am. Giong was on his way back to the control room at the end of his shift at Terminal 3 when he saw a brown wallet under one of the seats along the boarding gates and pocketed it.
The wallet belonged to a Bulgarian woman who had landed at Changi Airport the previous day.
On his way home, Giong looked through the wallet and found cash and two credit cards from Westpac, a financial institution that provides services in various countries, including New Zealand.
He removed the cash and cards and threw away the wallet.
The same day, he used one of the cards to buy items such as watches, a mobile phone and a mountain bicycle.
He also purchased groceries and furniture items, and a gold baby anklet. In total, he spent about NZ$2,285 (S$1,967).
Giong also spent about $72 on drinks and groceries with the other credit card.
The Bulgarian woman made a police report after receiving multiple notifications from her bank about numerous transactions made with her credit cards.
Four days after he found the first wallet, Giong was working at Terminal 3 when a member of the public handed him a grey wallet that had been found.
Giong checked through the wallet and took one debit card. He then passed the wallet back to the member of the public, who did not see him taking the card, and asked the latter to leave the wallet with the staff at the information counter.
After work that day, he used the debit card to buy his wife birthday gifts worth $726 from jewellery brand Pandora, then threw the card away.
The debit card and grey wallet belonged to a retail assistant at the airport’s departure terminal. The police were notified when he realised his wallet was missing.
Giong was arrested on Oct 9, 2023. He has since made full restitution to both victims. ST understands he resigned from Sats in November 2023.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Kai asked for between 14 and 18 months’ jail for Giong, noting that general deterrence is the primary sentencing principle for such cases.
Giong, who did not have a lawyer and went to court with his wife, pleaded for leniency through a Mandarin interpreter.
He said he was the sole breadwinner in the family, and their finances were tight, as his wife recently lost almost $50,000 in a scam.
During his mitigation, both Giong and his wife were wiping away tears.
Addressing Giong before handing down his sentence, District Judge Kok Shu-En said: “The offences you have committed are serious offences.
“It is aggravating that you were an auxiliary police officer. So you really should have known better.”
For each count of cheating, Giong could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
The offence of criminal breach of trust by a public servant carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine.
