On 12 July 2024, Bedok Police Division presented the Public Spiritedness Award to 14 members of the public for assisting the Police in nine separate cases. Three other individuals were also presented the Community Partnership Award for their strong partnership with the Police in preventing the commission of scams.
Cases commended for Public Spiritedness Award
On 16 March 2024, Ms Komathi D/O Jayakumar (“Ms Komathi”) called for the Police’s assistance when she saw a man at a beach, appearing emotionally distressed and expressed his desire to commit suicide. Ms Komathi tried to speak to the man and delayed him while waiting for the Police’s arrival. Her quick action prevented the potential loss of a life.
On 21 February 2024, a female victim was going up an escalator in Tampines MRT station when she heard a commotion behind her. She turned around and saw Mr Lee Teck Oon (“Mr Lee”) holding onto a man and confronting him for allegedly taking ‘upskirt’ videos of the victim. Upon checking the man’s phone photo gallery, the victim discovered upskirt videos of herself. They approached the security staff, and the Police were subsequently called. The man was arrested for his suspected involvement in voyeurism under Section 377BA of the Penal Code 1871.
On 11 February 2024, Ms Farida Binte Mohamed Amin (“Ms Farida”) heard noises outside her HDB unit and went out to make a check. She saw a woman standing on bricks near the parapet wall of the common corridor. Ms Farida spoke to the woman and convinced her to step down. The woman then left hurriedly. A few blocks away, Ms Cheong Yoke Lin (“Ms Cheong) saw the same woman standing dangerously near the parapet. Ms Cheong spoke to her and managed to persuade her back to safety. The actions of both Ms Farida and Ms Cheong prevented the potential loss of a life.
On 24 January 2024, Mr Dolani bin Yunos (“Mr Dolani”) observed a man sitting on the ledge outside his HDB unit. Mr Dolani ran out and managed to pull the man away from the ledge while Mr Dolani’s wife called the Police for assistance. His quick action prevented the potential loss of a life.
On 11 January 2024, the Police received a report on a case of an attempted armed robbery. The man was no longer at the scene when the Police arrived. The description of the man was provided by witnesses. Concurrently, a separate Missing Person Report was also lodged for the man. Hours later, Sergeant Phun Zheng Kang (‘SGT3 Phun’), an on-duty SCDF paramedic saw a missing person appeal on social media and recognised the man with the description provided. SGT3 Phun called the Police and notified that he had earlier conveyed the man to the hospital, which led to his swift arrest. The man was arrested and charged on 13 January 2024 with the offence of Robbery when armed or with attempted to cause death or grievous hurt under Section 397 of the Penal Code 1871 and voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery under Section 394 of the Penal Code 1871.
On 20 December 2023, Ms Tan Poh Choo (“Ms Tan”) and Ms Chong Li Hui (“‘Ms Chong”) were working at a pawn shop when they encountered a woman attempting to pawn a jewellery set. Upon checking the woman’s particulars, Ms Tan and Ms Chong recognised the woman based on their past dealings and had reasons to believe that the woman did not own the jewellery set. They alerted the Police thereafter. The woman subsequently confessed that she had stolen the jewellery set from a house she had worked at. She was charged with the offence of Theft in Dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871.
On 9 September 2023, Ms Sabariah Binte Ismail (“Ms Sabariah”) and Mr Muhammad Rasidi Bin Suriade (“Mr Rasidi”), an off-duty Police officer, observed a man behaving suspiciously at a carpark, opening IU covers of motorcycles. Mr Rasidi approached the man and detained him with the help of a passer-by, Mr Suharto Bin Ismail (“Mr Suharto”). Ms Sabariah called the Police, and the man was arrested for his suspected involvement in Fraudulent Possession of Property. The actions of the trio prevented a potential series of theft of cash cards in the vicinity.
On 5 July 2023, the victim withdrew money from an Automated Teller Machine (“ATM”) in Tampines. As she walked back to her bicycle with the cash in hand, a man allegedly snatched the cash from her hand. The victim resisted and called for help. Mr Rohani Bin Kadri (“Mr Rohani”), who was working nearby, was alerted to her call for help. Mr Rohani went towards them and attempted to detain the man. He managed to retrieve the stolen cash and returned it back to the victim. However, the thief managed to flee the scene. After the incident was reported to the Police, the man was subsequently arrested and charged with the offence of assault or criminal force in committing or attempting to commit theft of property carried by a person under Section 356 of the Penal Code 1871.
On 17 June 2023, Mr Islam Md Shafiqul (“Mr Islam”) was notified that a man was about to commit suicide in his dormitory room. He called for help, and Mr Sankar Dinesh (“Mr Sankar”) and Mr Praveen Raj s/o Saundara Murugan (“Mr Praveen”) rushed to the room. The three men managed to gain access into the room and saw the man hanging himself from the ceiling. Through their quick actions, they brought the man down and saved his life.
Individuals Commended with Community Partnership Award (Individual)
On 27 February 2024, Ms Emilita Lim Ya Qi (“Ms Lim”) and Ms Tan Wee Qian (“Ms Tan”) from UOB Bedok Branch successfully prevented their customer from become a scam victim. When a customer approached Ms Tan to transfer $1,500 to her “boyfriend” and claimed that he was detained by the Singapore Customs and had to pay a sum of money for his release. Ms Tan recognised a potential scam. She alerted her supervisor, Ms Lim. After further explanation to the victim, Ms Lim successfully convinced the victim that it was a scam and prevented further loss of money.
On 12 February 2024, Ms Faten Fameimi Juraimi (“Ms Faten”) was working at a 7-11 outlet along Circuit Road when she saw a woman who appeared to be in distress. Ms Faten spoke to the woman, and she explained that she was supposed to meet someone who had instructed her to purchase MyCard credits from the AXS machine. The woman was supposed to provide a screenshot of the purchase before the person would meet her. Ms Faten recalled an SPF advisory on scams and called the Police for assistance. Ms Faten’s actions prevented further financial loss to the scam victim.
The Police commend and thank all the award recipients for their public spiritedness and for stepping forward to assist the Police.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Justin Wong, Commander of Bedok Police Division said “Through their brave acts, our award recipients have made our community safer and more secure. I hope that their actions will encourage others to step forward, and work with the Police to keep Singapore crime free.”.
AC Justin Wong, Commander, Bedok Police Division with the award recipients ▼
AC Justin Wong, key officers from Bedok NPC, and staff from UOB ▼
Supt Edwin Yong, Commanding Officer, Pasir Ris Neigbourhood Police Centre with SGT3 Phun Zheng Kang ▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
12 July 2024 @ 9:00 PM