SINGAPORE: Two police officers were charged in court on Friday (Aug 11) with criminal breach of trust after taking money over several years from suspects they were investigating.
The alleged acts by the suspects, Mohamed Mohamed Jalil and Mohamad Danial Mohamad Nazali, came to light following “proactive regular case reviews and due diligence probes” conducted by the police on the financial status of the officers.
The cases investigated by the two suspects were thoroughly reviewed by Singapore Police Force (SPF) after the discovery of the offences, police said in a news release on Friday.
They were also referred to SPF’s Internal Affairs Office for investigations, police added.
MISAPPROPRIATING MONEY SEIZED FROM SUSPECTS
Both men had allegedly misappropriated money seized or retrieved from suspects in cases which they had investigated in the course of their official duties as police officers, police said.
According to the police, Mohamed’s offence is related to a case under his charge in 2012.
He had allegedly misappropriated restitution money collected from a suspect over four years, between 2013 and 2017.
Mohamed was arrested on Jul 13, 2020, and suspended on Jul 16 the same year.
He faces four amalgamated counts of criminal breach of trust by a public servant.
Meanwhile, Danial faces 23 counts of criminal breach of trust by a public servant, 18 counts of forgery and 74 counts of evasion of parking charges.
Danial was found to have allegedly misappropriated restitution money collected from suspects and “proceeds of crime seized for forfeiture to the State”.
His offences were in relation to multiple cases under his charge between 2017 and 2020, police said.
“Danial had also allegedly forged acknowledgement receipts on multiple occasions to make it appear to his supervisor that restitution processes were followed.”
He was arrested on Oct 17, 2020, and suspended on Oct 22 the same year.
Danial was also found to be moonlighting as a taxi driver while under suspension following a report that was lodged on Oct 13, 2022.
He had also allegedly evaded parking charges on multiple occasions between Nov 3, 2021, and Feb 18, 2022.
“Internal disciplinary action will be taken against him for moonlighting while under interdiction, after the conclusion of his criminal cases,” said the police.
The police also said that it will review outstanding compensation matters upon the conclusion of Mohamed’s and Danial’s criminal cases and the “victims will be contacted accordingly”.
SPF said that it regularly conducts audits of cases and supervisors are duly alerted when any lapses are detected “to ensure that the investigation process is fair and robust”.
“Internal investigations are swiftly conducted, and documents relating to all the cases which the errant officers were investigating will be reviewed”, it added.
“SPF officers are expected to uphold the law and maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity.
“The SPF takes a firm stance against officers who are found to have been involved in any wrongdoing, which includes charging them in court.”