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Policeman fined $6,000 for sexually harassing female subordinate for over a year

Singapore's State Courts (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)
Singapore's State Courts (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

SINGAPORE — A policeman who sexually harassed his female subordinate for over a year was on Tuesday (30 July) fined $6,000.

The 36-year-old officer, who was the victim’s deputy team leader, pleaded guilty to three charges under the Protection from Harassment Act.

Another five similar charges were considered in sentencing.

The man, who was suspended from duty in December last year, cannot be named to protect the 26-year-old victim’s identity.

Crude, explicit jokes

In early 2016, the man posted a photo of the victim’s WhatsApp profile in a WhatApp chat group with the following text message, “This one is a virgin, who wishes to try?”

The victim saw the message.

In October that year, the man said, “After Halloween Horror Night, go check into hotel and get her pregnant.” The victim heard the man.

In June 2017, he also caused her to hear him say that a place was very “ulu” and that she would be raped by stray dogs and get pregnant if she went there on her own by bus.

Sometime in 2017, he also caused her to hear him say, “Don’t anyhow swing swing wait...got pregnant.”

On another occasion that year, the man said to the victim, “What are you sucking?”

Harassed in front of team

In October that year, the victim and her team mates were settling down for a debriefing at the end of their shift. The deputy team leader said to the victim, “Want to go Bangkok together? Bring you go whitening and expanding.”

The man said he was joking. “He explained that by ‘whitening’, he was referring to whitening the victim’s skin, while by ‘expanding’, he referred to expanding her chest,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Gregory Gan.

The next month, the victim and her team mates attended a police defence tactics recertification course, where they practised with a T-baton. She was the only female officer there. The deputy team leader walked past the victim and said, “Don’t later poke until baby come out.”

Again, the man said he was joking.

Sometime in 2017, the victim brought some cupcakes as a treat for her team mates. While they were eating the cupcakes, the deputy team leader said, “The cream on the cupcakes look like creampie...believe it to be nasi kangkang.” He advised them against eating the cupcakes.

“Creampie refers to the male ejaculation after sexual intercouse and nasi kangkang refers to vaginal discharge used on food in the practice of black magic,” said DPP Gan.

“The accused admitted to making the comment and stated that he understood nasi kangkang to refer to discharge from the vagina. He claimed to have meant the words as a joke,” added the prosecutor.

The victim felt sexually harassed by the deputy team leader’s comments but she felt helpless as he was her supervisor and she did not want to offend him by telling him off.

In April last year, the victim attended a lecture for police officers. After the session, she told the lecturer, a 53-year-old senior policeman, that the deputy team leader had made sexual and offensive remarks against her.

When the lecturer asked her why she had not lodged an official report, the victim said she was in a state of confusion and was apprehensive of the consequences of making a police report.

The lecturer made a police report the next day.

DPP Gan asked for a high fine “to send a clear signal that such workplace harassment will be dealt with strictly”.

For each of his charges, the perpetrator could have been fined up to $5,000.

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