Singapore is often touted as a very safe country. After all, it is one of the few countries where if you lose something valuable, there’s a high chance of you retrieving it.
However back in August 2019, a police officer at Whampoa Neighbourhood Police Post was reportedly caught stealing S$300 from a lost-and-returned handbag.
On Tuesday (1 Sep), the police officer was sentenced to 3 months’ jail after pleading guilty to criminal breach of trust.
The incident started when a woman came across an unclaimed handbag at a bus stop near Novena Church, reports Lianhe Zaobao.
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The woman later returned the bag to the Whampoa Neighbourhood Police Post and told Mr Chung, the police officer manning the counter, that it contained a significant amount of cash and valuables.
She even told Mr Chung that he should document the items.
The officer, however, said that wasn’t necessary as he would lodge a police report on her behalf.
Turns out, the bag belonged to an 18-year-old Indonesian who had arrived in Singapore earlier that day.
Upon realising that she had lost her bag, the Indonesian lodged a report at a police station in Toa Payoh.
However, upon collecting the bag, she discovered that S$300 was missing from her wallet.
You might have guessed by now, but Chung turned out to be the culprit behind the missing money.
According to TODAY, the officer took the money from the purse and separated the Singapore Dollar notes from the Indonesia Rupiah ones.
Holding the Singapore notes in hand, he reportedly leaned forward in an attempt to hide the notes from the CCTV before placing them in his pocket.
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Later, he took the 6 pieces of $50 notes home and did not make a record of the cash in the found property report.
It was only after 3 weeks when Chung was presented with evidence of his misdoings that he returned the S$300.
On Tuesday (1 Sep), Mr Chung pleaded guilty to the charge of criminal breach of trust as a public servant.
At the time of the incident, he held the rank of Sergeant 2.
The now 26-year-old was sentenced to 3 months in jail.
SPF clarified that,
This … does not represent the professional and disciplined conduct of our SPF officers.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore Police Force (SPF) emphasised that they take the security of property found very seriously. They also ensured that measures are in place to ensure safe and proper handling of such items.
This is not the first time such incidents have happened. Earlier in March, a police officer was also caught stealing from lost-and-found wallets.
Police officers are tasked with the important role of upholding the law and should do so with integrity and honesty.
Hopefully, this will serve as a valuable lesson for everyone that nobody – even police officers – is above the law.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Foursquare. Picture of bag is for illustration purposes only.
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He added that various factors contributed to such accidents.
To add insult to injury, she was told that the takeaway container cost RM1.
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