SINGAPORE: A staff sergeant with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) has been charged with multiple offences, including reportedly abusing his authority to obtain sexual gratification from two female suspects.
In return, he purportedly promised to help one woman avoid criminal prosecution and to help the other with her employer's queries about investigations against her.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMahendran Selvarajoo, 31, was charged on Friday (Nov 29) with multiple offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Computer Misuse Act.
He is accused of accessing, without authority, a woman's mobile phone before taking pictures of three of her personal photos.
He is also charged with modifying the contents of a computer without authorisation, by copying videos and folders from laptops belonging to two female suspects and uploading them to his own portable storage devices.
Mahendran is also accused of having a total of 46 videos and 26 photos with obscene objects in his phone and USB flash drive.
AdvertisementAdvertisementSPF had referred the case to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
It said in a statement that CPIB will not hesitate to take firm action against all corrupt offenders, "including public officers who abuse their position of authority to cause undue harm to the public and tarnish the image of the public service".
Anyone convicted of a corruption offence can be jailed for up to five years, fined up to $100,000 or both.
The police said in reply to CNA’s queries that Mahendran has been suspended since May 15 this year.
A police report was lodged against him and the case referred to CPIB after immediate investigations.
“The police also conducted investigations into the case the officer was handling to scrutinise all related evidence and found that the integrity of the findings was not compromised,” said the police spokesperson. Police investigations into the case are ongoing.
She added that SPF officers are expected to uphold the law and maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity.
“SPF will deal severely with officers who break the law, including charging them in court,” said the spokesperson.
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