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Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officer Abdul Rahman Kadir and former officer Muhammad Zuhairi Zainuri were each convicted in September 2022 on one count of engaging in a conspiracy to intentionally obstruct the course of justice.

The men were sentenced on Thursday (Nov. 24), The Straits Times (ST) reported.

Abdul Rahman, 46, is still working for CNB, but has since been suspended. He was sentenced to two years' jail.

CNB told ST that it will start disciplinary proceedings against him, following his conviction. This will be carried out with a view to dismiss him from service.

The other man, Zuhairi, 36, resigned from CNB in February 2022. He was sentenced to one year and 10 months' jail

Mohamed Hafiz Lan, a third officer linked to the case, was sentenced to 18 months' jail in August 2020, according to a previous report by ST. 

He pleaded guilty to a similar charge previously.

What transpired?

In their previous submissions, seen by Mothership, Deputy Public Prosecutors Alan Loh and Thiagesh Sukumaran stated that CNB officers Rahman and Zuhairi chose "convenience over integrity" with their actions.

The conspiracy was motivated by a desire to avoid wasting time on what Zuhairi called "unnecessary paperwork" in dealing with the offender in question, Maung Moe Min Oo.

Maung, a 32-year-old Singaporean, was detained together with a Thai woman at the Woodlands Checkpoint for suspected drug consumption on Aug. 15, 2018, at around 11pm.

Maung knew that he would fail his drug test due to his consumption of methamphetamine beforehand.

Maung was a drug offender who had been sent to a drug rehabilitation centre (DRC) previously, and was aware that if his urine tested positive for drugs again, he would be sent to the DRC for the second time.

He feared that if this happened, his wife would leave him, and he would lose custody of his two children.

As a result, while being interviewed, Maung sought help from the officers so he could test negative.

Zuhairi then left the interview room to speak to Hafiz, and they then agreed to tamper with the urine sample by swapping Maung's sample with another.

This would allow Maung to leave without further hassle as Abdul Rahman and Zuhairi deemed Maung as a "difficult subject" and that "considerable efforts would need to be taken to process him as a drug offender."

Plan in motion

The DPPs' submissions also recounted the details of how the officers helped Maung test negative.

First, Zuhairi placed an empty bottle in the toilet.

Hafiz then urinated in the bottle, hid it, and left the toilet.

Maung was then instructed to follow Abdul Rahman and Zuhairi into the toilet.

He was then told to pee into an empty bottle and dispose of its contents.

Hafiz's sample was then used for Maung's drug test.

Maung's test thus came out negative. The Thai woman who was with him also tested negative.

The pair were then allowed to leave the CNB office, and they left for Malaysia.

Getting caught

Two days later, on Aug. 17, 2018, a different CNB team detained Maung as he was re-entering Singapore.

After being tested again, Maung's urine was found to contain traces of methamphetamine, and he explained that Abdul Rahman helped him pass his previous urine test.

Maung was subsequently detained at a DRC.

The DPPs highlighted in their submissions that the officers' conspiracy was difficult to detect, as the entire enterprise was orchestrated by members of the same duty team.

"If Maung had not been apprehended when he returned to Singapore on Aug. 17, 2018, the conspiracy would not have come to light," they said.

Top Photo via Motorist.sg