Ex-Certis Cisco Officer Fires Gun In HarbourFront Centre In Jan 2021
Given the nature of their work, some auxiliary security officers have to carry firearms. Needless to say, officers who carry these weapons must handle them responsibly.
Last January, however, a former Certis Cisco officer failed to do so when he discharged a shot from his revolver while sitting on a toilet bowl at HarbourFront Centre.
The security company has since fired the 37-year-old, who recently received a 9-week prison sentence for committing the rash act.
Auxiliary officer fires gun in HarbourFront Centre toilet
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Mr Goh Ze Lin – a Certis Cisco auxiliary police officer at the time – was deployed to the OCBC Bank outlet at HarbourFront Centre on the morning of 8 Jan 2021.
At about 11.45am, he went to a male toilet on the 2nd floor and entered one of the cubicles.
Inside, he unfastened his utility belt containing a loaded Taurus 85 revolver and placed it on the floor.
Image for illustration purposes only
Source
While he was sitting on the toilet bowl, Goh reportedly removed the gun from the holster and started fiddling with it.
As he thought about some financial matters that he was facing at the time, Goh “rashly squeezed” the trigger and discharged a round from the firearm, reported The Straits Times (ST).
Even though the shot left a small dent on one of the tiles, nobody was hurt in the process.
Following the misfire, Goh informed his company who then instructed him to stay put while awaiting the police’s arrival. Goh’s weapon was subsequently seized.
Investigations later found that Goh had deliberately pulled the trigger to discharge the live round.
Could’ve faced up to 6 months’ jail
After an examination at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), a psychiatrist report revealed that Goh did not have any mental disorder. What he experienced was a “transient situational reaction”, reported TODAY Online.
In court, the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) sought 10 weeks’ jail for Goh, on the grounds that the round could have ricocheted and hit Goh or other toilet users.
However, the DPP also highlighted several mitigating factors:
- Early plea of guilt
- Remorse
- Swift alerting of Certis Cisco to the incident
On Friday (11 Mar), the court sentenced Goh to 9 weeks’ jail for committing a rash act that endangered human life.
He could’ve faced up to 6 months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.
Certis Cisco has since fired him.
Fortunate that there were no injuries
Considering how fatal firearms can be, anyone carrying them should handle them with utmost care.
Thankfully, in this case, there were no serious injuries arising from Goh’s careless actions.
Hopefully, he has learnt his lesson and will be more responsible in other situations.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Travel Hub.
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