Jail, fine for retired cop who groped 2 police NSFs when they were his subordinates

Source: The Straits Times
Author: Shaffiq Alkhatib

SINGAPORE - A retired police officer who was a supervisor to two full-time national servicemen (NSFs) when he groped the pair was sentenced to 24 days' jail and a fine of $20,000 on June 12.

Before handing down the sentence, District Judge Teoh Ai Lin noted that Rama Shanker Singh, now 60, had abused his authority and used criminal force on his victims.

Singh, who was a superintendent when he retired in 2016, pleaded guilty on June 10 to two counts of using criminal force on others. He also admitted to one count of being in possession of obscene films.

Four other charges were considered during sentencing

Singh was initially handed five molestation charges in January 2023, but four of them were later reduced to that of using criminal force on others.

The fifth molestation charge was withdrawn, and he was given a discharge amounting to an acquittal for it. This means he cannot be charged again with the same offence.

The reasons behind the reduction in the charges and the withdrawal of the molestation charge were not disclosed in court on June 12.

Singh, who joined the police force in 1984, targeted his first victim in the conference room at the Ang Mo Kio Police Division Headquarters in 2003. The victim, identified in court documents as V1, is now 42.

V1 was told to go to the conference room at the police division to collect some investigation papers.

No one else was around when Singh approached V1 while the younger man was sitting on a chair.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Tay Jia En and Gladys Lim had stated in court documents: "The accused... stood behind V1. He proceeded to massage V1's shoulders while telling V1 that he was attracted to V1. The accused then kissed V1 at the top of V1's head."

Singh then touched V1's private parts and the younger man, who felt shocked and helpless, left the room.

Separately, Singh groped the second victim, V2, who is now 38, in a police car some time between 2005 and 2006.

On one occasion, he was with Singh in a police car when the older man touched V2's genitals.

Singh withdrew his hand when the younger man told him to stop, only to repeat the act later during the same ride.

The DPPs had told the court: "V2 felt angry and outraged by the accused's actions but chose to keep quiet as the accused was his supervisor and senior officer.

"After the incidents, V2 felt embarrassed, ashamed and humiliated as he was physically strong yet felt that he allowed the accused to touch him in that manner."

On Dec 13, 2020, the police received information that Singh had allegedly committed certain "offences" against an NSF, and the retiree was arrested eight days later.

Details about the offences and this particular NSF were not disclosed in court documents.

Singh was later investigated for the offences he committed against V1 and V2.

The authorities seized his mobile phone and two laptop computers. These devices were later found to contain 170 obscene films.

On June 12, DPP Tay urged the court to give Singh a short jail sentence for the offences involving V1 and V2.

The prosecutor stressed that these cases involved highly intrusive acts on the NSFs, adding: "His conduct was persistent against both victims."

But defence lawyer Ramesh Tiwary pleaded for his client to be given a fine for each count of using criminal force on others.

He told Judge Teoh that Singh had touched the victims over their clothes and the contacts lasted a few seconds.