Supt (Ret) Avadiar S/O Ponengan and Supt Cindy New lift the lid on their most memorable and challenging cases!
By: Rose Maswida
With a keen eye for detail, an intellect for cracking the trickiest of cases and an unwavering drive for justice, Investigation Officers (IOs) have always been vital to the Singapore Police Force (SPF). But how have investigative practices evolved over the decades? To find out, I spoke to two officers who’ve sharpened their investigative instinct by solving numerous cases – former Superintendent of Police (Supt) Avadiar S/O Ponengan and Supt Cindy New.
The Past: An IO’s Determination
Supt (Ret) Avadiar began his journey in the SPF as a Police Constable in 1970. During his 40-year career in investigation, he held various posts, including serving as an Assistant IO at Kandang Kerbau Police Station (where Tekka Market is now located); an SIO at Tanglin Police Division and the Organised Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department; as Chief Investigation Officer at Central Police Division; and as Head of Investigation at Jurong Police Division from 2005 to 2011.
What hasn’t changed over the decades is an IO’s scrupulous attention to case details. Supt (Ret) Avadiar smiled as he pulled out his phone to share a photo of a treasured possession that accompanied him throughout his career: “I always wrote my Police reports using this typewriter.”
One of Supt (Ret) Avadiar’s most memorable cases occurred in 1986 when he was stationed at Tanglin Police Division. He was the SIO who investigated the case of a 22-year-old woman who’d passed away a few weeks after having undergone surgery for brain cancer, due to complications from the procedure.
“The circumstances surrounding her death seemed suspicious, but there was no coroner’s inquiry for this case then,” he recalled. “So I spent six months gathering sufficient evidence for an inquiry to be conducted.”
Determined to solve the case, Supt (Ret) Avadiar worked with his fellow IOs and educated himself by reading a medical dictionary. He also sought the views of pathologists and doctors including neurosurgeons.
The breakthrough came when a tissue sample from the woman’s pituitary gland was sent for further analysis to a senior pathologist in Singapore and a medical expert in the United Kingdom. “When the results came back, it was revealed that the tissue was neither cancerous nor a tumour,” he explained. “This meant that the surgery she’d undergone, which subsequently led to her death, was entirely unwarranted.”
The neurosurgeon who’d conducted the operation was found to be criminally negligent and was later barred from practicing medicine in Singapore.
This case remains one of Supt (Ret) Avadiar’s most significant, one that highlights the determination of our IOs to uncover the truth as well as the team spirit shared by officers who worked with and supported him.
The Present: Adapting to Change
Supt Cindy New joined the SPF in 1994. Prior to her posting as Head of Investigation at the Traffic Police (TP) in 2022, she took up various postings including Chief Investigation Officer at Bedok Police Division and Head of Investigation at Jurong Police Division.
For officers now, technology is a powerful aid to effective policing. “When I first joined the Force, we had a pager, handphone and desk phone to manage the calls that we received,” recalled Supt New. “But now, our smartphones are powerful tools that allow us to receive real-time information from the ground, 24/7.”
As Head of Investigation at TP, Supt New knows well the intricacies of investigating offences related to the road. These often have serious consequences such as injury, vehicular damage and even death. “Managing the high case load at TP is extremely challenging,” she explained, “but we put in much effort to ensure that our officers are well-prepared and effective.”
Recounting one of her memorable cases, Supt New shared that in 2019, she worked on a case where a safe containing about $60,000 in cash and an assortment of jewellery had been taken from a HDB unit. “After stealing the safe, the suspects handed it over to the mastermind at a factory,” she said. “But the determination of our team to uncover the truth eventually led to the prosecution of eight individuals involved in the case in court.”
A Shared Commitment
As Supt (Ret) Avadiar and Supt New shared cases from their investigation career, their dedication and passion to their work shone through. “My burning aspiration since I was young was to become a Police officer,” expressed Supt (Ret) Avadiar. “I truly enjoyed my work despite the challenges, and it never felt like a chore to me!”
This sentiment was echoed by Supt New: “My fervour to seek the truth and help deliver justice to victims – that’s what has kept me going in the investigative field through the years.”
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