Ex-NSF who attempted to get free sex with police powers has 6-month reformative training sentence replaced with 7 days' jail upon appeal
A High Court judge ruled that short-term imprisonment would better suit the need for deterrence and retribution for his offence of abusing police powers.
SINGAPORE – A 21-year-old Singaporean man, who was originally given at least six months of reformative training for threatening social escorts with his police warrant card to get free sexual services, was sentenced to seven days of jail by the High Court.
At the time of the incident, Fahd Siddiqui was a national serviceman with the Singapore Police Force, and was off-duty when he committed the offences. Fahd had originally been sentenced last September, and chose to appeal for probation instead.
Justice Tay Yong Kwang, in the written ground of decision released on Wednesday (13 March), ruled that neither probation nor reformative training was suitable for Fahd.
While the probation was unsuitable for Fahd, he also did not need the “rigorous and structured” environment of reformative training for rehabilitation, as Fahd had a low risk of reoffending, had “positive achievements” in school and NS and had made attempts to better himself through the help of his family.
Used his police warrant card to threaten the women
Fahd had initially contacted an escort for sexual services on 1 November 2022 after seeing an ad on the Locanto website. He agreed to pay her $400, before heading to her room at the Robertson Quay Hotel.
Court documents said that he initially told the escort that the exchange was off, as she was different from the woman he had seen on the advertisement, and left the room. He returned a while later after an "agent" told him on WhatsApp the price could be lowered.
Fahd then pulled out his warrant card, identifying himself as a police officer. He told the woman that unless they had an “arrangement” — which was for the woman to have sex with him for free — he would report her.
The escort did not agree and started to cry. Fahd eventually left the room while the she was on the phone with her "agent". He used the same method with two other escorts a few days later, a charge taken into consideration during sentencing.
Why the judge decided on a 7-day jail sentence instead
In the appeal against Fahd’s original sentence, his lawyer said probation would be more suitable for rehabilitation and deterrence.
Justice Tay wrote that there was nothing to suggest in the current case that there was a need to reform and rehabilitate Fahd, for a minimum of six months, "within a rigorous and structured environment" that reformative training was to provide.
Fahd "was not charged for having sexual urges or seeking commercial sex", Justice Tay wrote. "There was no judgment on his morality. If he wished, he could have paid the social escorts for their services and he would not have the present legal problems."
However, Fahd’s actions of flaunting his police powers was “reprehensible” as “he showed his police warrant card and made clear his intentions”.
"It is important that corruption or attempted corruption by errant police officers be deterred by punishment so that the public can continue to trust law enforcement officers," Justice Tay wrote, adding that "retribution must be considered in sentencing such cases as well".
"Police officers have special powers which grant them authority and control over members of the public. For instance, police officers have the power to arrest. The public needs to know that police officers will only use their powers in the rightful discharge of their duties," he said in his ruling. Hence, probation was not suitable for Fahd.
The High Court judge also did not feel that reformative training was appropriate either in Fahd’s circumstances, considering he had "strong familial support" as his family had relocated to Singapore from the Middle East to be with him, and he had "already begun serious efforts to better himself".
Instead, Justice Tay said a short-term imprisonment would better suit the need for deterrence and retribution, whilst also considering Fahd’s age when the offences were committed. The judge therefore allowed the appeal, and substituted the reformative training for the 7-day jail term.
“It allows the appellant to receive his due punishment and then move on with his young life while emphasising to the public and to other law enforcement officers that the appellant’s conduct was totally unacceptable,” the judge wrote.
Fahd started his sentence on 11 March.
Those convicted of corruption can be fined up to $100,000 and jailed for up to five years.
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