ICA officer falsely accused ex-supervisor of taking photos of man in toilet
SINGAPORE — A disgruntled Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer anonymously accused his former supervisor of taking photos of an unknown man’s genitals in a public toilet, a court heard.
Thomas Foo Jian Yao, 29, bought a SIM card and mobile phone while in Thailand and sent an email containing the false allegation to ICA’s senior management, including its commissioner and three deputy commissioners.
As a result, his former supervisor’s home and office were raided by the police, who also seized and checked his phone and laptop, and impounded his passport.
But Foo, an assistant superintendent, was caught after he returned to Singapore and at a shopping mall about two weeks later, he used the phone he had bought in Thailand. He logged on to the public WiFi network, allowing investigators to trace him via police cameras (POLCAMs) and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
At the State Courts on Monday (8 June), the errant immigration officer was jailed for 10 weeks after he pleaded guilty to one charge of giving false information to a public servant.
Culprit was aggrieved over being discredited
Foo felt that his former supervisor, a 46-year-old superintendent, had discredited him in front of his current supervisor and a superior officer, the court heard.
“Specifically, the accused was angry with the victim as the victim had raised matters to the accused’s supervisor instead of resolving it directly with him,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh.
“The accused thus decided to send a false complaint to the ICA senior management. The accused intended to cause ICA senior management to initiate investigations against the victim,” the prosecutor added.
On 8 August last year, while on holiday in Phuket, Foo set up an email account using a moniker. He deliberately bought a phone and SIM card to conceal his identity and remain anonymous, said DPP Koh.
At about 2.41am, the culprit emailed nine of ICA’s top leaders. In it, the sender claimed that he was with his son in the toilet at Seah Im Food Centre when he saw the victim “pointing the camera at the open cubicle of another person at an angle which the another (sic) person’s private part could be seen”.
The email also said that the victim had boarded an ICA shuttle bus, and attached an image of the victim’s face. The sender concluded the email saying, “I am not going to blow things up. I just want this person, if really he took such photos, to internally receive some counselling and advice.”
On 9 August, an ICA assistant commissioner made a police report on the matter. The police then replied to Foo’s “anonymous” email seeking his help in investigations.
Victim unnecessarily subjected to investigations
Police investigators later traced the file information of the victim’s photo in the email to Phuket.
On 21 August, Foo used the public WiFi at Century Square mall to use the phone he had brought back from Thailand. He saw an email from the police and replied to say that he didn’t have time to attend an interview for the purpose of investigation.
In his reply, Foo also said that “while I am sure I saw the camera mode on and viewing the other person private parts, I am not sure in (sic) whether he really did take the picture”. The culprit also said he didn’t want the “matter to blow up”.
But investigators identified Foo and traced him that day using POLCAMs and CCTV footage. The culprit later came clean and admitted that he had made a false allegation.
“As a result of the accused’s acts, the victim was unnecessarily subjected to investigations,” said DPP Koh. “The victim’s office and house were raided on 8 August 2019 and his passport was impounded on 8 August 2019. The victim’s personal mobile phone was seized on 8 August 2019 and his work laptop was checked by the police on 8 August 2019,” she added.
The police also checked two iPads belonging to the victim’s wife and daughter. And he was also interviewed by the police on 8 August and 10 August.
“Significant public resources were expended and these investigations would have continued, had it not been for the fact that the accused was identified by the police,” said DPP Koh. “The victim’s passport was eventually returned to him, after the accused admitted that the contents of the first email were false.”
For giving false information to a public servant, Foo faced a maximum punishment of up to a year in jail along with a fine of up to $5,000.
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