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Jail, caning for ex-police officer who posed as woman to molest teen boy and film others
A forensic examination of the man's mobile phone uncovered numerous obscene voyeuristic videos.
Sharizal Shafi'ee arrives at the State Courts on May 29, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)
Koh Wan Ting
29 May 2026 11:12AM
SINGAPORE: An ex-police officer who disguised himself as a woman to sexually prey on teenage boys was sentenced on Friday (May 29) to three years' jail and four strokes of the cane.
While dressed in a dress and headscarf, Sharizal Shafi'ee, 40, approached three boys, asking them to help adjust his bra.
The first two declined. The third agreed, believing Sharizal was genuinely a woman in need of assistance, but was later molested by him.
Sharizal was a police officer at the time of the offences but has since lost his job.
He earlier pleaded guilty to five charges, all involving sexual offences against three teen boys, then aged 15 years old. These are for procuring the commission of obscene acts, molest and producing child abuse material by recording two of the teens in sexual acts.
Another ten charges of a similar nature were taken into consideration for sentencing. These include one amalgamated charge of voyeurism, as he had recorded videos of 32 men engaged in sexual acts for around six months.
His victims cannot be named due to a gag order protecting their identities.
APPROACHED VICTIM AS A WOMAN
On Apr 18, 2024, Sharizal left his flat wearing a long blue dress, a brown headscarf and makeup. He went to the back gate of a secondary school, where he approached a 14-year-old boy.Claiming that he needed help adjusting his bra, he asked the boy to follow him. When the boy declined, Sharizal approached another youth, then aged 18. This boy also declined to help him.
About 10 minutes later, Sharizal approached a third teen — a 15-year-old boy who agreed to help, believing Sharizal was a woman in need of assistance. The boy followed Sharizal to a nearby staircase landing, where Sharizal gave him instructions on how to help.
As the teen stood behind Sharizal and tried to follow his instructions, the man molested him.
The teen filed a police report later that day, and Sharizal was tracked down and arrested on Apr 28, 2024.
A forensic examination of Sharizal's mobile phone uncovered numerous obscene voyeuristic videos.
One video, more than 12 minutes long, captured a then 15-year-old boy in a sexual act with his face clearly shown.
ENGAGED IN VIDEO CALLS WITH VICTIMS AS A WOMAN
Sharizal admitted that he had recorded this video without the victim's consent on Jul 31, 2023. He had met the teen on a social media application and pretended to be a woman called Lisa.While disguised as a woman, he tricked the teen into committing sexual acts in a video call, while pretending to be engaged in a sexual act himself. He then used the screen-recording function on his device to record the victim, who remained unaware that he was being filmed.
Sharizal kept the video for his own viewing and did not circulate it.
The police found three other videos, between two and six minutes long, of another victim on Apr 18, 2024.
This victim, then 15, was also engaged in a sexual act and clearly identifiable. Sharizal had used the same modus operandi to trick this teen.
The prosecution urged the court to sentence Sharizal to between 36 and 39 months' jail and six to eight strokes of the cane.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim said in his submissions that there was an "extremely high" degree of sexual exploitation.
"The victim, who was vulnerable by virtue of his young age, naively believed the lies and falsehoods peddled to him by the accused," said Mr Lim. He noted that Sharizal had posed as a woman in need of help to lure the boy to a secluded staircase landing.
"The offence was clearly premeditated. From the statement of facts, it is clear that the accused, who had left his house in disguise, had targeted young male individuals with a pre-planned routine," added Mr Lim.
Sharizal's lawyer Sanjiv Vaswani sought a jail term of between 22 and 28 months and argued that caning was not warranted.
Mr Vaswani said his client's case lacked the aggravating factors that would typically justify caning, including that Sharizal had not distributed the obscene material and was not involved in organised crime.
The lawyer also cited Sharizal's guilty plea and cooperation with the authorities as significant mitigating factors.
"The accused’s personal history strongly supports the conclusion that the present offences are an aberration," Mr Vaswani said.
"Prior to these offences, he had led a law-abiding life and has no antecedents whatsoever, which indicates that he is not a recalcitrant offender."
Mr Vaswani added that Sharizal had served in the Singapore Police Force for 17 years and received several awards and commendations, including an award from the Ministry of Home Affairs for his assistance during the Little India riot.
In sentencing, Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh said deterrence should be a key consideration, adding that a substantial jail term and caning were needed to deter like-minded offenders.
The judge found the sentencing range proposed by the prosecution to be appropriate.
