The Singapore Police Force has released a statement in response to media queries regarding the passing of the late police officer Uvaraja S/O Gopal on July 21.

The July 24 statement said only "known facts" will be released.

The police said: "At this point, we can set out only the known facts, as not all the relevant facts have been established."

"It is also inappropriate for the police to make any comments, or come to any conclusions, pending detailed investigations."

Made complaints against superiors and peers over the years

In the statement, the police said the late police officer, who had more than 10 years in service, and was last an officer with Ang Mo Kio Police Division, had made a number of complaints against his superiors and peers over the years.

All of these had been investigated and dealt with, but some are being investigated again, the police said.

This is so in the light of the allegations which the late Uvaraja had made prior to his death.

"From SPF’s perspective, his superiors had assessed that he was facing substantial challenges at work," SPF said.

"They had tried to help him in a number of ways."

Measures taken to help officer

SPF added that help was rendered to the late officer, including providing him with "coaching" to "address his performance issues", as well as given transfers "at his request", to six different work units in nine years.

The SPF added that since 2015, the late officer was granted additional leave at his request, which extended beyond his usual leave entitlements of vacation leave, casual leave, and ordinary sick leave.

"In 2022, for example, he was at work for fewer than 30 days, as he was on various types of leave, including extended sick leave, unrecorded leave, and no pay leave," SPF said.

"In 2023, he had been at work for fewer than 25 days, for similar reasons."

Arranged for counselling and assistance

The late Uvaraja’s supervisors also arranged for counselling and psychological assistance for him at various points in his service from 2016 onwards, SPF also said.

Most recently in January 2023, he was assigned a para-counsellor after he reported experiencing work stress.

On Feb. 16, 2023, he reported to a new unit following his request for a transfer from his previous unit and showed signs of being unstable, SPF said.

He was counselled by a para-counsellor on the same day, and later attended to by a psychologist from the Police Psychological Services Department.

Due to safety concerns, he was relieved from carrying firearms from Feb. 16.

Complaints he made against fellow officers

As regards complaints he made about misconduct of fellow officers, SPF said the late Uvaraja alerted his supervisors that he had spotted fellow officers vaping within the police compound.

However, the complaint was not made out, thus no disciplinary action was taken, SPF revealed.

This was after an independent supervisor was tasked to perform searches for e-cigarettes and vaping devices within the station premises, and interview the officers concerned, having acted on the complaint by the late officer.

In a separate incident in January 2023, in a different police unit, the late Uvaraja alerted his supervisors that he had spotted fellow officers smoking.

"Investigations found evidence of this infringement and disciplinary action was subsequently taken against those officers," SPF said.

Following both incidents, the late officer's supervisors facilitated his request to transfer to another unit to start afresh, as the late Uvaraja was uncomfortable working with the colleagues he had reported on.

Tensions with family

Police interviews also showed that the late Uvaraja had had tensions with his family.

SPF said: "We have informed his parents and brothers, who are the involved parties, that the following will be disclosed and they have expressed their understanding on the release of the information."

Calls for police assistance at late policeman's house

The police said they received multiple calls for assistance at his parents’ residence on July 13, 2023 afternoon.

When the police arrived, the late Uvaraja was in a dispute with his family over financial matters.

He had also allegedly assaulted his brother.

As a result, the police commenced investigations against him for a case of voluntarily causing hurt and intentional harassment.

This was a pending case.

On July 14, 2023, the late Uvaraja's mother lodged another police report against him, saying she feared for her safety.

This was followed by a call for police assistance later in the day by the late Uvaraja's sister-in-law, that he was outside her house.

He left the area after the police arrived.

Allegations of racial discrimination

Specific to the allegations of racial discrimination, SPF said it takes a firm stance against such matters.

The police said they are aware of the allegations of racial discrimination made by the late Uvaraja in 2015.

SPF said: "We had looked into these and interviewed the officers involved. The allegations were found to be unsubstantiated. There are avenues for SPF officers to raise complaints on discriminatory workplace practices - to their unit Commanders, Police Headquarters (HQ) or the Ministry HQ, and such complaints are looked into seriously."

However, the police will review and investigate again these allegations, and refer the findings to the Attorney-General's Chambers.

The SPF added that the findings will also be submitted to the Minister for Home Affairs, for his decision on whether the findings should be further reviewed.

Further updates will be provided in due course, the police said.

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