Ex-auxiliary police officer jailed
By Shaffiq Alkhatib | Posted: 20 September 2011 1805 hrs
SINGAPORE: A former auxiliary police officer was sentenced on Tuesday to six weeks' jail for misappropriating a 50-euro note, worth about S$86, while he was on duty.
Muhammad Zulkhairi Hamim was working with the Singapore Airport Terminal Services on 16 November last year when an employee of an aircraft cleaning firm found a passenger's wallet.
He collected the wallet from her and the court heard he then recorded in his log book the original amount found in it.
But Muhammad Zulkhairi decided to remove the 50-euro note from the wallet while making his way to a lost-and-found counter.
Defence counsel Jason Dendroff said the rightful owner of the wallet later reported the loss and his client was arrested.
The lawyer pleaded for leniency and asked the court to give his client a fine.
In his mitigation, he told District Judge Jasvender Kaur that Muhammad Zulkhairi claimed he had found S$12,000 while on duty in June last year.
Mr Dendroff added that Muhammad Zulkhairi also claimed he was commended for returning the money.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Paul Wong argued that Muhammad Zulkhairi was lying about this alleged incident and could not provide any evidence to back his claims.
Judge Kaur noted that Muhammad Zulkhairi had taken the money while on duty and had abused his position by doing so.
He could have been jailed up to two years, fined, or both for committing the offence.
- CNA/cc/wk
