Senior cop gets jail for pocketing $43k meant as victim's restitution money

SINGAPORE - A senior police officer was sentenced to three years' jail after taking $43,000 worth of restitution money meant for a victim in a case he was investigating.

On Friday (Sept 22), Mohamed Mohamed Jalil, 54, a senior station inspector with the Singapore Police Force (SPF), pleaded guilty to three charges of criminal breach of trust by misappropriation as a public servant.

At the time of his offences, Mohamed, who joined the SPF in May 1989, was attached to the investigation branch of Tanglin Division.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yee Jia Rong said in March 2012, a woman, D, made a police report claiming her housemate, T, had pawned jewellery D had asked her to clean.

D also claimed T used money that D gave her for investment opportunities for her own purposes.

Mohamed was the investigation officer for this case.

Between April 2012 and March 2013, he told T she needed to make restitution of around $80,000 for the jewellery and money she got from D.

But Mohamed did this without the approval from SPF management or from the Attorney-General's Chambers to arrange for restitution to be paid.

DPP Yee said Mohamed knew he needed approval before making such arrangements.

The DPP added that T trusted Mohamed and agreed to pay the amount.

Between March 2013 and November 2017, Mohamed collected $43,000 from T and her husband, on the basis that the money was to be given to D as restitution.

Mohamed initially received the cash from the couple at Tanglin Division.

He later arranged for the money to be transferred to his personal bank account, or physically collected it from various locations, such as carparks near Bedok Reservoir, T's home and Novena Square.

Instead of passing the money to D, Mohamed used it to make rental payments and maintenance payments to his former wife, and for his vacations to the Philippines. 

His offences were discovered when D's daughter told the SPF in 2020 that Mohamed had returned some of the misappropriated jewellery to D and her family without proper documentation.

She said her mother had been unable to contact Mohamed since 2019 to follow up on the restitution money.

Mohamed was suspended from the SPF in July 2020.

The Straits Times has asked the SPF about whether further disciplinary action has been taken against Mohamed, and if he is still a police officer.

Seeking three years' jail for Mohamed, DPP Yee said the hard-won reputation of law enforcement agencies cannot be taken for granted and must be protected.

He said: "Thus, in cases such as the present (one), where a law enforcement officer abuses the colour of his position and breaches public trust, severe punishment is necessary to reflect the damage inflicted to the standing of the institution that he represents."

Mohamed, who was unrepresented, pleaded for leniency in mitigation.

District Judge Brenda Chua said his offences were serious and involved a significant amount of money.

She said: "As a law enforcement officer, the accused did not uphold the law, but instead used his position to commit the offences. The SPF needs to be protected from conduct of this nature."

ALSO READ: Police nab former car salesman who allegedly cheated customers out of over $100k

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.