Man who mocked Traffic Police officer's death charged with shoplifting
A netizen who drew flak for his Facebook post mocking a Traffic Police officer who died in the line of duty has been charged in court with shoplifting.
Thomas Chua Poh Heng was on Monday (5 June) charged with the theft of a bottle of perfume in Mustafa Centre along Syed Alwi Road on Sunday.
Chua, 39, who was arrested at around 5.30am, was found outside the store with an unpaid item. According to court documents, he is alleged to have stolen a 100ml bottle of Must de Cartier perfume worth $98.
The court ordered Chua, who was not represented by a lawyer, to be remanded for two weeks at the Institute of Mental Health for a psychiatric evaluation.
Chua, a part time deliveryman, is also under investigation for three other police reports that have been lodged against him since January this year. Chua was out on bail when he allegedly committed the offence on Sunday.
Chua first caught the public eye after his Facebook post which gloated over the death of Traffic Police office, Staff Sergeant Nadzrie Matin, was widely criticised. Nadzrie was killed in the line of duty in a traffic accident along Serangoon Road last Thursday.
In his post, Chua alleged that Nadzrie had issued him a ticket because his driving skills were “no good”. He added that “police will also die like everyone in funeral parlour son don’t intimidate just because you are a (expletive) intimidating police.”
His comments drew ire from the public and Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam, who described Chua’s post as “sick” and “gloating”.
Shanmugam posted a screenshot of Chua’s post, saying that the comments were “an insult to all police officers, and deeply offensive to Nadzrie’s family”.
Shanmugam added, “People like Thomas are sick in the head. No decency or any sense of right and wrong.”
If convicted of theft in-dwelling, Chua can be jailed up to seven years and fined. He will next appear in court on 19 June.
